Blooming Flowers, Silent Sorrow

Chapter 78

He now just hoped that Huai En would disappear immediately so he could wrap himself in his blanket, seeking solace in the comforting warmth to mend the walls of his heart that had easily crumbled in front of Huai En.

Pointing towards the door, he said, "You should leave. Let’s not meet again, let's have no further dealings, Zhong—Zheng—Huai—En."

Huai En stood frozen as if struck by lightning, unable to believe that his humility had resulted in such a response. All his suffering over the months had culminated in this one statement!

Incredulously staring at Xiao Bao, his lips trembling, Huai En said, “Xiao Bao... why... what do you want me to do, I... I agree, let's not fight anymore, okay... Xiao Bao?”

Shaking his head and turning away, Xiao Bao replied, “Return my parents to me, and then we can go our separate ways…”

“How dare you!!!” Huai En roared, landing a punch on Xiao Bao’s face so hard that his fist seemed to sink in.

With bloodshot eyes and a heart so aching he could barely breathe, Huai En felt a profound sense of abandonment. It was pitiful and sad—yes, he had done wrong, but how could Xiao Bao treat him like this? Didn’t he love him, planning to spend a lifetime with him? How could he simply dismiss him over a mistake?

He had also forgiven mistakes, had he not? Had he not said that even if he made a mistake, he wouldn’t blame him?

“Why!!! Why do your words always mean nothing!! Why do you always deceive me!!” Huai En was both heartbroken and furious, feeling his blood boiling with anger.

“I made a mistake, but haven’t you ever done wrong too!! I said I would make it up to you!! Why!! How can you so easily talk about separation!! What am I to you! Didn’t you say we were to be together forever! Then why can't you forgive me!!”

Xiao Bao, gasping almost to the point of vomiting blood from the reversal, felt an ocean of sadness swelling within him. Was this really the person he wanted to be with for life? Someone who lacked ordinary human emotions, who knew nothing of the ways of the world, satisfying only his desires regardless of the pain it caused others. He couldn’t even understand the despair of being betrayed by a loved one; in his view, everyone else's sorrow was mendable and reconcilable, only his own grief was cataclysmic, demanding a collective funeral.

Xiao Bao, too exhausted to argue further, simply closed his eyes, "Either bring back my parents now, or leave immediately. Su Yin will be back soon; Su Yin will definitely bring my parents back safely..."

Mentioning Su Yin was like a stabilizing force for Xiao Bao, instantly filling him with courage. However, for Huai En, it was like a spark to tinder, immediately igniting him.

"Su Yin... Su Yin!" Huai En repeated the name through gritted teeth, suddenly feeling a strange sensation that made him lift his head and look towards the wardrobe on the left. From the moment he entered, something felt off, but he hadn't had the time to consider it. Now, bringing up Su Yin, he suddenly realized the mismatch—it wasn't Xiao Bao’s clothes in the wardrobe, but Su Yin's!

The person straddling him suddenly quieted down, as if even their breathing had become faint. Xiaobao waited for a long time, and seeing that he wasn't leaving, he opened his eyes in surprise, only to meet a pair of bloodshot eyes staring silently at him. The look in his eyes was familiar yet frightening, just like when he was caught in a brothel, a storm brewing just like then.

Huai'en suddenly gripped Xiaobao's chin tightly and lifted it forcefully to the left, making Xiaobao turn his head to face the wardrobe filled with Suyin's clothes.

Huai'en's voice regained that almost merciless coldness as he pointed to the wardrobe full of clothes, "Is this why? You're with him now?"

Xiaobao stared blankly at the pile of clothes, distinctly different from his style and easily recognizable as Su yin's.

Huai'en straightened his chin, looking straight into his eyes, "You're with him now?"

Xiaobao didn't know how to respond. Instinctively, he knew if he agreed, tonight would not end well, but denying it might mean losing a chance to let Huai'en move on.

Huai en didn't give him time to think and leaned down to forcefully seal his lips.

"Has he kissed here?" A brutal, bloody kiss.

"Has he touched here?" Huai en's icy hand slipped into Xiaobao's shirt, the contact making Xiaobao shiver from the cold.

"Has he seen you without clothes?"

"Has he licked your skin here?"

"Has he held you like this?"

"Has he entered your body?"

Xiaobao's resistance was negligible under his onslaught, quickly stripped of nearly everything.

Huai'en firmly held down his struggling limbs and roared, "Answer me! Answer me!!!"

"You're with Su yin!! You've always been like this, haven't you?! Are you playing games with me?! What am I to you?! Here, here, here, aren't these all mine?! Who else have you let touch you?! Speak!!!"

Only pain remained on Xiaobao's face, and Huai'en found himself in the same agony, turning Xiaobao over, their expressions unseen to spare the living pain.

Huai en felt his heart torn open, a bloody mess sprawled out. In his life, the only thing he cherished, the only thing he wanted, the only thing that could bring him happiness and joy, how difficult it was to hold onto.

Xiaobao wasn't serious with him; he was just playing games with him. Xiaobao was already with someone else. Just the thought of it was enough to make him wish for death, let alone seeing it right in front of his eyes.

He desperately tore at Xiaobao's clothes, tears blurring his vision. Slowly, his hands stopped moving, knowing that blind, frenzied sex wouldn't satisfy him. If this person's heart wasn't with him anymore, what could he do to get it back? To speak of punishing or possessing him, he couldn't even bear to hurt him!

Now, Huai'en only wanted to hold Xiaobao and cry bitterly, hoping he was just dreaming. He wished to wake up and find Xiaobao still his Xiaobao, still smiling at him, still liking him, still willing to be with him forever.

Xiaobao's low sobs gradually brought back Huai'en's senses. The naked back beneath him trembled incessantly, and Xiaobao's hands, pulling at the carpet's long plush, were already bloodied from the cuts.

The vivid redness seemed to shock Huai'en's vision, pulling him bit by bit from his violent and overwhelming anger. He had once promised not to hurt him again, even if this person had broken his promise and gotten close to someone else. He couldn't bear to hurt him, no matter how much pain he himself was in. He couldn't stand to see him cry. He had given up everything from his past just to be with him, and even though the outcome drove him to a murderous rage, he tragically found he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Wiping his face forcefully, Huai'en pried open Xiaobao's bloodied fists and covered him with a large cloak, wrapping it tightly around him. In a tone forcibly suppressed to calmness, he whispered into his ear, "On the second day of the new year, at the Yue Lian Inn in the north of the city, come alone, and I will release your parents."

After speaking, as if he dared not stay a moment longer, a gust of wind swept through, and he was gone from the room.

Only then did Xiaobao let out a loud cry, rolling uncontrollably on the ground, recklessly expressing his indescribable pain. The cold poison had already acted up when he was stripped of his clothes, and he was enduring it, sacrificing all his dignity. The piercing pain nearly drove him mad, and everything he had just experienced pushed him to utter despair. He truly did not understand why he had to suffer so much, and when it would ever end.