SABA Chapter 53

Jiang Tiao was utterly confused, reasonably suspecting the person either walked onto the wrong set or had some kind of mental illness.

Is it illegal to injure a mentally ill person? Since there were no surveillance cameras in the restroom, how could he prove it was self-defense?

Chu Xu’s eyes were bloodshot as he walked step by step towards Jiang Tiao, “Are you very happy with this outcome? You retaliated against me, got my attention, and I’m finally standing in front of you as you wished. Don’t you think you did the right thing?”

Jiang Tiao glanced at Chu Xu’s hands, confirming he wasn’t holding any controlled knives. He assessed their combat capabilities.

Hmm, even if he’s having an episode, I should still be able to beat him.

“Why don’t you understand? I’ve told you many times. Love is selfless, it’s about giving, it’s about restraint, it’s not asking for anything in return,” Chu Xu reached out, intending to grip Jiang Tiao’s shoulders fiercely, “Your repeated attempts to get my response only prove that your love isn’t pure enough, isn’t sincere enough!”

The moment Chu Xu’s hand was about to touch him, Jiang Tiao grabbed Chu Xu’s wrist, twisted it behind his back, and executed a grappling move, forcefully pressing Chu Xu against the washbasin.

Chu Xu’s eyes were filled with disbelief. He saw Jiang Tiao reach out, but he thought Jiang Tiao was going to throw himself into his arms. He had already prepared to magnanimously forgive Jiang Tiao’s mistakes over the past period! Chu Xu struggled a few times without any method, and two buttons on his custom-made suit popped open. He was inexplicably furious, feeling that Jiang Tiao was becoming increasingly unreasonable!

He roared furiously, “Do you want to erase the only good impression I have of you? Do you know that your actions are destroying the only possibility between us?”

“You truly chill me to the bone, you…”

Jiang Tiao, with one hand holding Chu Xu, turned on the faucet on the washbasin, partially blocking the spout, and splashed icy tap water onto Chu Xu’s face.

Chu Xu’s face was covered in water, his hair was wet and plastered messily to his face. His chest and collar were soaked, clinging to his body, making him look disheveled.

Coupled with Chu Xu roaring while Jiang Tiao was running the water, the strong stream hit his face and even poured into his mouth. Chu Xu choked, his eyes turning red, and he coughed uncontrollably.

Jiang Tiao acted like a school bully disciplining a delinquent, with a hint of nonchalance, and pushed Chu Xu’s head, “Are you awake now?”

“I didn’t expect you to be not only sick but also a scumbag. When you’re not having an episode, how many girls have you gaslighted with this kind of talk? It’s a shame I didn’t have time to record it; I really want to post it online. How about you say it again so I can record it?”

The veins on Chu Xu’s temples bulged, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was like a cornered beast provoked by a challenge to his status, “Jiang Tiao, you know I hate it when you’re like this the most!”

Don’t mentally ill people not recognize people when they’re having an episode? Jiang Tiao was confused, “You know who I am?”

Chu Xu: “You keep saying you love me, you always ask me why I don’t accept you. Why don’t you think about whether you’ve met the requirements I mentioned to you.”

“What gibberish are you talking about, speak properly!” Jiang Tiao frowned deeply, convinced Chu Xu was babbling nonsense. Because he knew himself very well; not to mention he didn’t like men, even if he did, he wouldn’t be attracted to someone like this. He wasn’t blind!

This was simply slander! Jiang Tiao was so angry he almost died. He bent his knees and delivered a kick to Chu Xu’s side, hitting his flank heavily. He had been good at fighting since he was a child, and his blows were brutal, causing pain without leaving visible external injuries.

Chu Xu immediately broke out in a cold sweat from the pain, his angry expression contorted and shocked, and his strength to resist diminished considerably.

Just as Jiang Tiao was about to teach this brain-dead person talking nonsense a lesson, he saw Huo Shen standing at the doorway. His eyes were lowered, like ice from the far north, and he looked at the two people inside with no expression.

“I didn’t fight!”

Jiang Tiao, caught red-handed fighting, felt extremely guilty. He immediately released his grip on Chu Xu and jumped to Huo Shen’s side.

“This person seems to have a problem here,” Jiang Tiao pointed to his head, “I was just washing my hands, and he suddenly rushed over. I was just defending myself, I really didn’t fight.”

Huo Shen saw the familiar expression on Jiang Tiao’s face, and his frozen heart began to thaw bit by bit.

Jiang Tiao spread his hands in front of Huo Shen, turning them over front and back, wishing he could swear to heaven to prove his innocence, “I’m not injured either!”

Jiang Tiao had always been like this since childhood; when caught doing something bad, he would act exceptionally well-behaved. The glaciers in Huo Shen’s eyes seemed to meet a warm current, and the surface began to melt slightly. He grabbed Jiang Tiao’s hand, “Let’s go.”

Chu Xu’s eyes were gloomy. Jiang Tiao could leave with anyone in front of him, but it absolutely couldn’t be Huo Shen!

“Jiang Tiao,” Chu Xu took a step forward, reaching out to grab Jiang Tiao.

Before Chu Xu could touch Jiang Tiao, Huo Shen intercepted his hand. He clamped his index finger and thumb on the ligament of Chu Xu’s wrist, his eyes like an unfathomable sea, dangerous and heavy.

Chu Xu’s heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively wanted to retreat. However, the unbearable pain from his wrist immediately cleared his mind. It was as if he had suddenly found an advantage in front of Huo Shen. The corner of his mouth curled, and he forced a proud and mocking smile through the pain, “What are you afraid of?”

Jiang Tiao frowned. Why did Huo Shen know Chu Xu? He remembered Chu Xu’s words earlier, which he had dismissed as ramblings, and his heart slowly sank.

Chu Xu felt the pressure on his ligament intensifying. He was in so much pain that cold sweat streamed down his face, yet he felt like the victor, high and mighty.

“It seems you also know that he’s just using you to provoke me, to get my attention, thinking that this way I’ll agree to his demands.”

He gloatingly and maliciously admired the suppressed storm in Huo Shen’s eyes, feeling that there was no greater beauty in the world than this. So what if you’re a heavenly prodigy? So what if you possess current wealth and status? The person you desire is still unattainable, and in front of me, aren’t you still just a wagging, begging failure!

Jiang Tiao’s expression darkened. He wasn’t stupid. He had indeed thought Chu Xu was mentally ill at first. Because even though he had amnesia, he knew himself well. But Huo Shen’s reaction indicated everything.

Apart from facing the uncles and aunts who had killed his parents back then, Jiang Tiao had never seen Huo Shen react with such strong aversion and disgust towards someone. Jiang Tiao couldn’t quite grasp the situation.

But Chu Xu’s last words made his face completely darken, and a nameless rage ignited in his chest. He hadn’t felt this way wanting to hit someone in a long time.

“Wait a moment,” Jiang Tiao stopped Huo Shen and subtly blocked him behind him, “Could you please tell me what our relationship was before? Are we together? Or were we together?”

Jiang Tiao’s reaction was beyond Chu Xu’s expectation. The smugness on his face momentarily went blank, and then he immediately became enraged. How dare he interrupt him?!

Jiang Tiao saw Chu Xu’s reaction, “Oh, I understand. So I pursued you before, but you didn’t agree, right?”

Chu Xu’s sharp eyebrows twitched fiercely. He felt he had regained the advantage. Hmph, in the end, it still came down to whether he agreed. He was just about to speak.

Jiang Tiao: “Then I can tell you clearly now, I don’t like you anymore. Let the past be the past. You can rest assured that I won’t bother you again. Of course, you shouldn’t bother me either.”

Chu Xu’s eyes were like a black panther that had been provoked; he was incredulous and inexplicably furious.

Jiang Tiao pulled Huo Shen and turned to leave. He caught a glimpse of the unyielding gloom on Huo Shen’s face, and remembering Chu Xu’s words, he still felt unsatisfied. It was as if someone had stuffed a piece of abrasive ice slag into his chest, and it was freezing the person he held dear in his heart, the person he wouldn’t even say a harsh word to.

He withdrew his foot that had stepped out the door, turned back, and grabbed Chu Xu by the collar. His movements were so fast that no one reacted. He leaned close to Chu Xu’s ear and spoke in a tone devoid of any emotion, in a voice only they could hear, “I don’t care what kind of entanglement you have with him, but don’t appear in front of him again.”

Chu Xu’s pupils contracted.

After speaking, Jiang Tiao released Chu Xu’s collar. He met Huo Shen’s gaze, displaying an innocent look as if to say, “I didn’t do anything to him, nor did I hit him.” His smile was ingratiating and obedient as he half-pushed and half-pulled Huo Shen into the car.

“I’m so hungry, so hungry. You have no idea how bad the food is at this film studio. I barely touched my chopsticks at noon.”

“You should have told me earlier that you were coming. If I had known, I wouldn’t have gone to the restroom.”

Zhuang Xiang, that double-crossing fellow, must have told Huo Shen where he was.

“Oh, I wonder if I can really land the role.”

“But I’m quite confident, I think I performed really well!”

“How about we celebrate? Celebrate my perfect performance. Shall we go to the supermarket to buy some ingredients and cook ourselves? Never mind, you take so long to add salt to your cooking that you have to use a kitchen scale to measure the exact grams according to the recipe. By the time you finish, I’ll be starving, so I’ll do it!”

Huo Shen finally spoke, giving Jiang Tiao a cool glance, “Are you trying to burn the house down?”

Jiang Tiao was overjoyed to hear Huo Shen finally speak, thinking he had finally appeased him! Jiang Tiao said with a smile, “Then let’s go burn my brother’s house. I remember he’s often staying at the one on Yunjin Road recently!”

Huo Shen’s eyes curved slightly at being amused.

Seeing that Huo Shen finally smiled, Jiang Tiao couldn’t help but reveal a deeper smile. He looked at Huo Shen’s expression and asked cautiously, “The last time I ran into Chu Xu’s agent, I talked to you about Chu Xu then, why didn’t you tell me at that time?”

The smile in Huo Shen’s eyes seemed to freeze like frost and snow. His gaze met Jiang Tiao’s, his dark pupils like an endless deep sea, appearing tranquil yet containing countless emotions.

For some reason, as Jiang Tiao looked into Huo Shen’s eyes, he suddenly felt a pang of sadness. He regretted bringing up that person in front of Huo Shen.

Everyone’s life had different colors. If he had to describe it, Huo Shen felt his should be the color of ink dropped into a large tub of clear water. He looked at the neon lights outside reflecting on Jiang Tiao’s face through the car window, as if Jiang Tiao were adding those colors to his gray, murky life.

Inside the cramped Bentley, there was silence…

To gain and then lose, to lose and then regain… Huo Shen thought, if his life with Jiang Tiao would ultimately be two straight lines that intersect for a period and then diverge in their own directions, then he might not have any color in his life afterward.

If the end of reason was despair and pain, then why couldn’t he choose to fall and sink?

Everyone has the right to indulge, why must he restrain himself?

After a long silence…

Huo Shen withdrew his gaze. He leaned back against the leather seat of the car and looked at the endless traffic jam on the overpass ahead, “Because I don’t want to.”

Jiang Tiao was surprised and delighted. He hadn’t seen this side of Huo Shen, this slight willfulness and unreasonableness, in a long time.

Huo Shen had been obedient and sensible since childhood. Only in front of those close to him would he show a bit of his true nature, like being willful or mischievous. After the upheaval at the age of twelve, Huo Shen became even more reserved. He stopped confiding in people, and it was almost impossible for others to infer his true feelings and thoughts from his outward appearance. Jiang Tiao had spent a lot of effort and tried many methods to gradually make Huo Shen stop being so outwardly cold.

After he woke up from the hospital, although Huo Shen was still as he had always been towards him, he felt there was a subtle cautiousness and consideration that was hard to explain. He had always thought that adults were like this, and it was because his memory was stuck in the past four years that he hadn’t fully adapted to being an adult, which made him feel so uncomfortable.

But now he realized that regardless of whether they had grown up, he hoped Huo Shen could always be carefree in front of him.

Jiang Tiao eagerly leaned towards Huo Shen, “You seem to really dislike him?”

Huo Shen leisurely stroked the surface of his wrist, which gleamed with a deep, aurora-like light. His tone sounded very calm, “If I say I hate him, will you stop contacting him?”

“Of course,” Jiang Tiao was about to swear to the heavens. He didn’t know what the situation was before, but he would never like someone that Huo Shen disliked.

Jiang Tiao’s eyes were bright, like the bright moon hanging high in the sky, shining solely on his path forward. Huo Shen gently stroked Jiang Tiao’s eyes, along his temples, down to his neck. He felt Jiang Tiao’s pulse beating like a drum beneath his fingertips, each beat stirring up a monstrous wave in his silent world.

He had once hoped that the bright moon would remain eternally bright and high in the sky. But if remaining high in the sky meant it might no longer shine only on him, then he would possess the bright moon.

So what if it was tarnished? As long as it was his, it was enough.

An indescribable tingling sensation spread from Jiang Tiao’s neck to his heart, making half of his body fall into a strange numbness.

Jiang Tiao belatedly realized.

If he had liked Chu Xu before, wouldn’t that mean he would also like men?