The unattainable beauty was driven to depravity and madness by a wicked seed.

Lu Sui had woken up because he couldn't hold it in any longer and needed to use the restroom. When Shen Qinghuai saw that he wasn't speaking, he approached him with the bandage on his head, carried him to the bathroom, and waited at the door.

There was a click after the water flowed by.

The door was locked from the inside.

Shen Qinghuai's voice drifted in through the crack, "Xiaobao, you're not wearing pants, it's cold in there. Did you lock the door because you wanted to stay in there for a long time? No, you'll catch a cold. Open the door quickly, and your husband will carry you to bed."

"Not my husband!" Lu Sui grabbed something and threw it at me. "Get away from me!"

Shen Qinghuai chuckled, his voice suddenly turning melancholic, "Xiao Bao, you really are... disobedient."

"If Xiao Bao doesn't open the door after I count to three, then what happens next is beyond my control."

"three."

"two--"

boom.

The sound of Lu Sui smashing things again was accompanied by the number "one" that Shen Qinghuai had mentioned.

The footsteps faded away, only to return in less than a minute. Lu Sui was squatting on the ground, vigorously rolling the chain with a toothbrush as he inserted the key into the lock. He didn't even look up when the door opened. Shen Qinghuai, however, explained with a smile, "I found the keys to all the rooms in the entire apartment, so baby, you'll be punished if you hide anywhere else. You might as well stay in my arms."

"..." Lu Sui continued to exert force, and the two toothbrushes in his hand broke off together, scraping the inside of his finger. Shen Qinghuai's expression suddenly changed. He wrapped his finger with a towel, carried him back to bed, and went to get the first-aid kit. He frowned and treated the injury carefully. While he was getting a cotton swab, Lu Sui pinched the injured area, and the blood flowed even more.

Shen Qinghuai pressed the gauze against the wound, met Lu Sui's cold gaze, and his Adam's apple bobbed slightly. "Doesn't it hurt?"

"You're threatening me."

"Feel sorry."

"What's the use?" He'll definitely threaten again.

"As long as you don't make your injury worse, I'll find you some clothes."

"Um."

Shen Qinghuai just asked if it hurts, how could it not hurt?

Shen Qinghuai had become so unfamiliar that Lu Sui didn't want to show any emotion.

Besides, this kind of pain is bearable.

After taking care of Lu Sui, Shen Qinghuai took out the toiletries and waited for Lu Sui to finish washing up before taking them back. He then took out a pair of pants from the wardrobe.

To put on the pants, the chain had to be unfastened. Shen Qinghuai was prepared to hold Lu Sui tightly in his arms and fasten him securely, but surprisingly, Lu Sui didn't struggle. He only said, "No."

"Little Bao, be good, it won't hurt your ankle." Shen Qinghuai knelt down by the bed and placed his foot on his knee.

Lu Sui looked at the chains, then at Shen Qinghuai, and finally realized something before falling completely silent.

Shen Qinghuai went to the kitchen and ladled out a bowl of chicken porridge. He had followed the recipe and tasted it; it was delicious. But Lu Sui had his head covered by the blanket. He put the bowl on the table and tried to help Lu Sui sit up. "Xiao Bao, eat first, then go back to sleep."

Lu Sui shook his head, and Shen Qinghuai kissed his pale lips. "After dinner, I'll carry you to the balcony to sunbathe."

Lu Sui shook his head again.

No matter how much he coaxed him, it didn't work. Even when the food was right in front of his mouth, he wouldn't open it. Shen Qinghuai's jaw tightened. He ate the spoonful of porridge, then kissed Lu Sui with it in his mouth, forcing him to swallow without explanation. "If you don't eat by yourself, I'll feed you this whole bowl like this."

Tears welled up in Lu Sui's eyes, and she knocked over the bowl. Shen Qinghuai cleaned up the floor and brought over another bowl of porridge, which was also knocked over. Shen Qinghuai cleaned it up again and came back with Lu Sui's cup. "If you're not going to eat, you should at least drink some water."

Ke Lu refused to drink.

Just as Chen Jingmo said, Lu Sui was stubborn and headstrong.

Shen Qinghuai's eyes were bloodshot, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Are you going on a hunger strike?"

He reached out to touch Lu Sui's stomach, thinking that he was already so thin from hunger that he might faint if he stayed hungry any longer, but he could clearly feel his stomach churning and spasming. He cursed and then grabbed a hot water bottle to warm Lu Sui's stomach. "When did it start hurting? Why didn't you tell me?"

Lu Sui pushed Shen Qinghuai's arm away, "It's none of your business."

Shen Qinghuai trembled as he placed the straw to Lu Sui's lips, his eyes red as he whispered, "Drinking some hot water will make you feel better, Xiao Bao, please, drink some hot water, okay? I didn't mean to make you like this."

This is not what he wanted to see.

Lu Sui responds better to gentle persuasion than force; this will only push him further away.

Seeing Lu Sui drink water, he smiled, his lips trembling, "I'll untie the chain right away."

"Don't you treat me like a... anymore?" Lu Sui asked.

"What?" Shen Qinghuai was taken aback. "I didn't treat you like... I don't know what's wrong with me. I just want to keep you by my side, I don't want you to leave, I don't want to break up with you—"

"Lu Huai Ren always keeps the chain around my neck, while you have it on my ankle." Lu Sui's voice was so soft it seemed like it could be blown away by a breath at any moment. "The difference between him and you is that one attacks my body, and the other attacks..."

My heart.

Shen Qinghuai apologized, saying he didn't know how things had turned out this way between them. Everything was clearly moving in a positive direction; Lu Sui had said she liked him, but what had he done now?

He trapped Lu Sui here and used lies to ask for leave.

He's going crazy, he's degenerating, he's become someone he despises.

Shen Qinghuai unlocked the chains, threw them into the trash can, placed Lu Sui on his lap to apply heat to his stomach, and fed him hot water. His hands were trembling, his legs were trembling, and his breathing was trembling. Holding the lifeless baby, the madness in his heart last night turned into guilt and heartache at this moment. "Are you feeling better? If not, we'll go to the hospital."

"I'm not going."

Lu Sui didn't want to go to the hospital.

Judging from his appearance, others can easily guess what he's done.

I don't want others to guess my identity.

I don't want to be talked about by others.

"Okay, I won't go. Do you feel any better?" Shen Qinghuai patted Lu Sui's hair and asked gently.

"Don't touch it." Lu Sui dodged away. "Don't bully it—"

He changed his tone, starting with a question, "Could you please stop bullying me?"

It seems that people are all like this; once they show their vulnerability, they can't help but be emotional.

Lu Sui's eyes were wet. "You said you wouldn't bully me, but you always do."

"Why did you lie to me? Why won't you let me wear pants? Why are you locking me here?"

"You threatened me and forced me to eat."

"no the same."

Tears streamed down Lu Sui's face, not just his own, but also Shen Qinghuai's tears, which mingled and intertwined, indistinguishable and inseparable. His voice was hoarse yet filled with hope, "Xiao Bao, how can we go back to the way things were before?"

Lu Sui fell asleep. Shen Qinghuai sat on the carpet by the bed and watched him. Suddenly, he felt a little like drinking. Maybe getting drunk would numb him, just like Lu Sui would smoke when he was unhappy. Shen Qinghuai gently lifted Lu Sui's hand, which was covered in gauze, kissed the back of his hand, and put it under the covers.

Shen Qinghuai threw away all the chains in the trash can and the things in the guest room drawers when he went downstairs. He sat on the floor and continued to watch Lu Sui. He took pictures, put the plain ring he had bought for Lu Sui the day before he left on Lu Sui's finger, got up and looked around the apartment, watered the pothos and succulents, and took out the blanket with the lint removed from the washing machine to hang it out to dry.

Shen Qinghuai applied a damp towel to Lu Sui's eyes. Although it had already been applied, his eyes were too swollen, so it needed to be applied several more times to reduce the swelling.

Shen Qinghuai was unwilling to accept this situation. He had not yet learned the real reason why they had become like this. He did not want to leave, but he had no choice but to leave because his presence caused Lu Sui pain. Rather than letting Lu Sui hide outside, he would rather move out so that when he missed Lu Sui, he would have a definite place to visit him.

Five minutes later, he childishly hung his clothes in the walk-in closet, leaving them scattered around, wanting the whole place to be imbued with his scent.

Suddenly, Shen Qinghuai frowned slightly.

Something seems off here.

This shouldn't be the case.

The guest room is on the far west side, and the master bedroom is on the east side. The two rooms are next to each other. The end of this walk-in closet doesn't even reach the far east wall of the guest room. There's at least a balcony-sized space between them.

So, does Lu Sui know about this?

-

Actually, we should have waited a few more chapters for Shen Qinghuai to discover the secret room, but I felt that both of them were very sad... The original version of the previous chapter has already been released.