Stop Being a Black Lotus, Okay? - Chapter 2

The car glided into the underground garage. The sudden silence magnified the sound of Ying Yulian’s cautious breathing.

Lu Min’s answer, “Yes,” stirred a faint ripple in those misty black eyes, which was immediately swallowed by an even deeper sense of unease.

Ying Yulian stopped speaking. He buried his face deeper into the fabric that smelled of a stranger, leaving only a small patch of his pale forehead and trembling eyelashes visible. Lu Min did not look at him again. He briskly unbuckled his seatbelt and pushed the door open to get out.

The sudden rush of cold air made Ying Yulian flinch. He lifted his eyes to look at the tall figure standing against the light outside the car door, then quickly looked down. His gaze fell upon his mud-stained feet peeking out from under the hem of the overcoat and the floor beneath them, which was so clean that it reflected light.

“Get out.”

Lu Min’s voice was flat, showing neither urgency nor patience.

Ying Yulian moved awkwardly. Having left the cage, that filthy tin shack, and the speeding car, his feet were about to truly step into a completely unknown territory belonging to this man. This realization made every nerve in his body tighten. He gripped the car door frame, trying to stand steady. His bare toes curled slightly from tension and cold as they touched the icy floor, sending a faint shiver through him.

Lu Min’s gaze swept over those dirty feet and the old bruises faintly visible on the ankles. His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. He said nothing, simply turning to walk toward the elevator. After a moment’s hesitation, Ying Yulian finally took a step and followed, staggering. The hem of the cashmere coat dragged on the ground with a soft rustling sound. He walked very slowly, struggling to keep up, his steps faltering due to weakness.

Lu Min stopped in front of the elevator and pressed the button. He stepped inside and turned around, watching the thin, small figure still struggling to move a few meters away. Ying Yulian met his gaze. His footsteps faltered for a fraction of a second before he quickened his pace, almost breaking into a stumbling trot. He squeezed inside just before the elevator doors closed.

Inertia nearly sent him crashing into Lu Min, but he braked just in time at the last second. His back pressed against the cool wall of the elevator car as he kept his head down, his chest heaving with slight pants. The elevator ascended smoothly, the numbers ticking upward. In the enclosed space, there was only the faint hum of machinery and the breathing of two people who were inches apart yet seemingly separated by an invisible barrier.

Ying Yulian could almost smell the scent coming from the man. It was cold and dry, mixed with a very faint hint of tobacco and the lingering aroma of car fragrance. It was worlds away from the filth, blood, and mustiness he was used to. This unfamiliarity left him even more at a loss. He peeked up slightly through the gaps in his dirty, tangled hair to steal a glance at the man beside him.

Lu Min was looking at the numbers above the elevator door. His jawline was taut, his expression blank, yet he exuded a heavy sense of pressure for no apparent reason. Like this place, he was clean, expensive, cold, and inviolable. Ying Yulian quickly withdrew his gaze, his heart drumming against his thin chest. He could not help but tighten his grip on the shard of glass in his palm.

The elevator reached the top floor with a chime.

The doors slid open silently again, revealing a corridor covered in soft carpeting. The light was warm and dim, and the air carried a very faint, clean fragrance. The apartment door had a fingerprint lock. Lu Min pressed it, and the heavy door opened. Dry, clean air rushed out, clashing with the cold, foul aura the two brought from the shantytown.

Ying Yulian stood at the door, staring at the polished marble floors, the expensive furniture, and the glittering city night view visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows. He felt like a speck of dust that had wandered into another city. He instinctively held his breath, his feet frozen in place, afraid to step inside.

“Come in,” Lu Min said. He took off his stained jacket and tossed it onto a chair in the entryway. He looked back at him, his tone a command that brooked no argument. “Take off your shoes.”

Ying Yulian looked down at his tattered, mud-caked shoes, then at the floor which was so clean that there was not a speck of dust. A flash of panic and embarrassment crossed his face. He stood awkwardly and unsteadily on one foot, trying to untie the ragged strips of cloth that did not even qualify as shoelaces.

Lu Min watched for two seconds, his brow furrowing, before he finally walked over and crouched down in front of Ying Yulian. This movement caused Ying Yulian to jerk back half a step, his back hitting the door frame as he looked at him in alarm.

“Do not move.”

Lu Min’s voice was flat, but his movements were efficient. He untied the rags directly, removed the two shoes, which were so filthy their original color was unrecognizable, and tossed them into the trash bin outside the door. Then, he pulled out a pair of clean slippers. His cold fingertips inadvertently brushed against the bony hollow of Ying Yulian’s ankle, making the youth shiver slightly.

Lu Min’s fingers then pressed against the top of his foot, slowly pushing the slipper on inch by inch. As he leaned close, his breath brushed against the bare inner side of the youth’s calf. It was a warmth that stood in stark contrast to the cold air outside.

“Lift up.”

Lu Min’s voice was low. His fingers were already wedged into the gap between the heel of the slipper and the youth’s heel. His knuckles inevitably pressed against that softest, most vulnerable skin. Ying Yulian complied almost reflexively, lifting his foot slightly. The upward push was slow and agonizing, carrying a force that was impossible to refuse until the heel fit perfectly.

Lu Min pulled his hand away, though his fingertips accidentally grazed the other person’s protruding ankle bone. Only then did he straighten up. His gaze traveled up the youth’s thin legs, finally stopping on Ying Yulian’s face. That pale face had somehow developed an unnatural flush, and even the tips of his ears were colored. Lu Min’s frown deepened. He instinctively reached out and touched the back of his hand to the youth’s forehead.

The touch was merely warm, not burning. “Do you have a fever?” he asked.

“No, no fever.”

Ying Yulian trembled from the chill of the back of the hand. His voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, and his head hung even lower, almost burying itself in his chest. The flush became more obvious, but it was not a sickly one. It was more like a misplaced bashfulness mixed with panic over such close contact. He had thought that this man would be like the others he had met, and that he had bought him for illicit purposes. He had not expected that the man really just wanted to put shoes on him.

Lu Min withdrew his hand. He scrutinized him for two seconds and, after confirming it did not look like illness, stopped investigating. Perhaps it was just a stress response to the unfamiliar environment.

“Then come here.” Without further words, he turned and signaled for the youth to follow him toward the bathroom. “Take off your clothes. Wash yourself, or should I help you?”

Lu Min turned on the hot water to adjust the temperature. His tone was as casual as asking if he wanted rice or noodles, but it made Ying Yulian’s face go pale instantly.

“I, I will do it myself.” His voice trembled, and his knuckles turned white from the force of his grip, yet he made no move. His eyes darted fearfully toward Lu Min before quickly dropping again, his body shivering slightly.

Lu Min waited for a few seconds. Seeing his fear and realizing he might not even have the strength to finish cleaning himself, he stopped wasting words.

“Turn around.” He stepped forward and unbuttoned the tattered coat without allowing any refusal. His movements were not gentle, but they were not intentionally rough either. They were simply highly efficient.

Ying Yulian was like a stiff puppet, letting him do as he pleased. He bit his lower lip so hard it nearly bled. His thick eyelashes trembled as they lowered, hiding the surging shame and panic in his eyes. The filthy outer coat, the thin undershirt, the pants riddled with holes, piece by piece, they fell away, piling onto the smooth floor tiles.

As the final piece of clothing providing cover was removed, the youth’s pale, thin body was completely exposed to the air and the light. Lu Min’s gaze suddenly froze. He already knew the boy was thin, but seeing it now with his own eyes, the bony ribs rising and falling with shallow breaths, the curve of the sunken abdomen outlined in the steaming mist, the limbs slender and pale, and the joints flushed with a faint pink.

However, what truly captured his gaze were the scars spreading wildly across that cold, white canvas. They were not simple bruises or cuts. They were like sinister vines winding around this young body. Some were a somber purple, while others were a vivid red and bruised, their edges slightly swollen. When the warm water brushed over them, that patch of skin could not help but shudder uncontrollably.

But as his gaze moved down to the area between the youth’s legs and his buttocks, his movements faltered almost imperceptibly. There, it was relatively clean. Aside from a few bruises that seemed to have been caused by bumping into things while struggling to hide, there were no traces of the specific types of injuries he had expected.

This discovery caused Lu Min’s tightly furrowed brow to relax for a brief moment, but it immediately tightened again. This did not mean the boy had been treated better. Perhaps it just had not had the chance to happen yet. The Scarface man’s foul words echoed in his ears.

The hot water was ready, and steam began to rise. Lu Min withdrew his scrutinizing gaze and, without further hesitation, lifted the shivering youth directly into the large bathtub. The warm water instantly enveloped the cold body. Ying Yulian jerked violently, a soft gasp escaping his throat.

“Sit still.” Lu Min rolled up his sleeves and grabbed the body wash and a soft bath sponge. He had not intended to let anyone else do this. He began to wash this scarred body personally.

His movements were a bit stiff at first. After all, across two lifetimes, he had never served anyone like this, especially not since this person was Ying Yulian. But soon, his habit as a former criminal investigator, calmness and efficiency, took over. He did his best to avoid the obvious wounds, cleaning away the grime quickly and thoroughly. Bubbles slid over the thin shoulders and back, where the protruding vertebrae were clearly defined.

Lu Min’s hands were slightly calloused. He kept his strength within a range that would not cause pain but was absolutely impossible to resist. Ying Yulian remained stiff throughout. His head was buried deep, his wet black hair sticking to his cheeks and neck. His body trembled slightly from shame and a deeper unease, but he did not struggle again. He only convulsed uncontrollably when the water or Lu Min’s hand touched a particularly deep wound.

There was only the sound of water and slight friction in the bathroom. Lu Min washed him in silence until most of the grime was removed. The youth’s skin gradually revealed its original color, though the scars became even more prominent. While rinsing off the bubbles, Lu Min’s gaze swept over the wounds again, especially several newer ones where the flesh was turned out.

He suddenly spoke, his voice sounding low amidst the splashing water, “These injuries, how did they happen?”

Ying Yulian’s body stiffened. He did not answer. Lu Min did not expect an immediate answer. He simply used a wet hand to lift the boy’s chin, forcing him to look at him. In those large eyes, always filled with fear, a mist had now gathered.

“Speak. Who hit you? Why did they hit you?”

The youth’s lips quivered. Lu Min saw the cracks on them. He picked up some warm water and, lifting Ying Yulian’s chin, used it to moisten the dry lips drop by drop, like he was feeding a cat. This revealed the vulnerable red of his lips. The youth’s eyes wandered as if he were trapped in a terrible memory. His voice was fragmented and trembling.

“Father sold me. They locked me up to…”

“To do what?” Lu Min pressed, though his tone softened to ease the unavoidable pressure.

Ying Yulian shook his head violently. Tears rolled down in large drops without warning, mixing with the hot water. “I would not. They hit me. They locked me up.” He was incoherent, his broken words filled with desperate resistance and terror. “Mother, Mother was beaten to death by Father, then he sold me. I will not go. I will not.”

The fingers Lu Min held under his chin relaxed their grip slightly. Mother beaten to death, sold by his father, and then beaten and detained for refusing to serve guests. A few sentences pieced together a tragic story. This explained why the wounds on his body were mostly from abuse rather than anything else. It also explained Scarface’s words. The merchandise was disobedient and needed training.

He let go and continued rinsing the bubbles off the youth with warm water. His movements were much gentler than before. So, it was because he had arrived that those even more unspeakable things had not had time to happen. This realization was like a stone falling into a deep pool, stirring an indescribable ripple in his cold, dark heart. Should he be glad that this demon from his past life was at least spared such devastation in this one? Or was it even more ironic that he had fallen to such a state?

Lu Min stopped questioning. He lifted the clean but weak youth out of the water and wrapped him entirely in a large, soft bath towel to dry him. Then, he noticed the problem: the right hand, which had been tightly clenched and hidden under the towel the whole time.

Hardly requiring a second thought, the instincts of a former detective and the details he had observed immediately connected in his mind. He recalled the scattered glass shards on the floor in the dim light of the tin shack, the wrist the youth had gripped tightly when pulled from the cage, and the right hand he had been instinctively tucking away ever since. The most likely thing next to a cage in a shantytown that a youth could pick up and use as a threat could only be glass.

Lu Min’s eyes darkened. He did not approach directly. Instead, he stood up slightly, his tall shadow stretching out under the light, casting a pressurized shadow over the youth curled in his embrace. Wrapped in the bathrobe, the youth immediately shrank back like a startled mimosa plant. He forgot that the one holding him was Lu Min. By shrinking back, instead of escaping the source of pressure, he crawled further into Lu Min’s arms.

A small section of pale toes peeked out from under the bathrobe, curling uneasily. Dripping black hair stuck to his temples, and water droplets slid down his thin cheeks, disappearing into the oversized collar.

“What is in your hand?”

It was not a question, but a calm statement of fact. Ying Yulian’s entire body stiffened. He shook his head violently, hiding his hand further behind him. His lips turned almost transparent, and only his eyes revealed a trace of fear and stubbornness, like a trapped animal.

Looking at him like this, the cold scrutiny in Lu Min’s heart intertwined with a very subtle, inexplicable emotion that even he could not name. He did not step forward with a forced command. Instead, while holding the youth, he reached for the overcoat on the corner of the sofa. He reached into the coat pocket. After a moment, his fingertips pinched a small, pink plastic wrapper, and he brought it back into Ying Yulian’s view. It was a strawberry candy.

The plastic wrapper reflected a bit of cheap, soft luster under the light. Lu Min placed it gently on the leather sofa between them.

“Trade that thing in your hand for this,” he said. His voice was steady, his gaze locked onto Ying Yulian, refusing to let the youth dodge. “Give me the glass, and the candy is yours.”

Ying Yulian’s gaze was instantly pinned to the candy. He had never seen such a thing, but the faint, sweet aroma triggered a vague, long-forgotten instinct for something good. Longing surfaced clearly in his eyes, only to be harshly suppressed by deeper doubt and fear. He looked at the candy, then quickly glanced at Lu Min, his fingers twisting tighter inside his sleeve.

Lu Min waited patiently. He even leaned back slightly against the sofa, crossing his long legs and relaxing his posture to reduce his perceived aggression. Finally, Lu Min moved. He reached out and slowly began to unwrap the candy. The crinkle of the plastic wrapper was amplified in the silence. The sweet fragrance intensified as it filled the air. When the crystalline, pink candy ball was completely exposed, Lu Min held it between his fingertips and offered it closer to Ying Yulian.

“It is sweet,” he said softly. “You can taste it.”

This gesture, the scent, and this sweetness that was so close it seemed within reach, became the final straw that broke Ying Yulian’s strained nerves. His breathing quickened for a moment. Long-term hunger combined with a child’s natural longing for sweets broke through part of his crumbling defenses. He stared fixedly at the candy, then, as if making a monumental decision, quickly glanced up at Lu Min.

The man’s face was expressionless. There was no urging, no threat, just a calm waiting. Finally, Ying Yulian very slowly moved his right hand out from behind him. The movement was stiff, as if the hand weighed a thousand pounds. He opened his palm. In the center of several fresh, bleeding cuts, lay the sharp-edged shard of glass. He did not hand the glass over directly. Instead, he held his hand open and looked at Lu Min with those misty eyes that held a final trace of uncertainty and plea.

Lu Min understood. His fingers holding the candy moved forward, gently touching the edge of Ying Yulian’s open palm before placing the candy ball on a patch of clean skin.

“It is yours.”

The moment the cool candy touched his skin, Ying Yulian jerked as if burned. Then, with lightning speed, he snapped his fingers shut, clutching the candy tightly in his left hand. At the same time, he pushed his right hand forward, fully presenting the blood-stained glass to Lu Min. Lu Min reached out with two fingers, precisely pinching the blunt base of the glass to take it from the youth’s sweaty palm. The glass was dropped into the bottom of a glass ashtray with a crisp click.

Lu Min’s attention quickly returned to Ying Yulian’s right hand. The cuts in the palm needed to be treated. He grabbed the first-aid kit and sat down beside the youth. This time, Ying Yulian did not resist violently. His body remained stiff, his left hand tightly clutching the candy as if it were his only lifebuoy.

When the disinfectant touched the wounds, Ying Yulian sucked in a breath from the pain. His eyes turned red instantly, and tears welled up, but he bit his lip hard and did not let them fall. Lu Min’s grip on his wrist was steady. His movements in applying medicine and bandaging were quick and efficient.

“If it hurts, squeeze it,” Lu Min said flatly.

Ying Yulian was stunned for a moment, then he actually squeezed his left hand harder, as if the candy really could give him the strength to endure the pain. When the bandaging was finished, Lu Min let go of him and packed up the supplies. Ying Yulian immediately pulled his injured right hand back into his sleeve. He curled into himself, looking down at his gauze-wrapped palm and then at the candy in his left hand.

Lu Min stood up and looked down at him for a moment. The youth’s wet hair hung down, and the loose bathrobe revealed a bony collarbone and the striking red birthmark beneath it.

“You can eat the candy,” Lu Min said. His voice carried no emotion. “The glass, I am putting it here. It cannot hurt anyone else, and it cannot protect you.”

He turned and walked toward the bedroom, leaving Ying Yulian alone in the living room. Ying Yulian slowly opened his left hand. The strawberry candy lay quietly in his sweaty palm. He looked at it for a long time. Then, very slowly, he poked out the tip of his tongue and gave it a tiny lick.

It was so sweet. It was a kind of sweetness so unfamiliar that it made his heart race.