Chapter 1221: Millennium Year Love Story 26

After dinner, Jin Chen sat cross-legged on the living room's bamboo mat, blowing air while reading the news, took the milk cup Chen Zhu handed over, and hesitated for three seconds.

There is sleeping medicine.

To drink or not to drink.

The wife wants to do something stimulating.

Jin Chen looked up; Chen Zhu wore a gentle smile and also casually ruffled his hair.

Drink it, it's just a sleeping pill.

Jin Chen obediently drank the milk, pulled Chen Zhu to sit, and ate watermelon while watching TV.

After more than ten minutes, Jin Chen guessed the drug's effect would start, and indeed the next second he began to feel drowsy.

He leaned on Chen Zhu, yawning nonstop, his consciousness gradually blurring.

"Brother, I'm going to sleep."

Jin Chen hugged Chen Zhu, then got up and returned to the room.

Chen Zhu sat there a while longer; the TV news broadcast had ended, and a drama was about to start.

He slowly ate the remaining watermelon, then took from under the coffee table a clean plastic rope, turned off the TV and all lights, and walked into Jin Chen's room.

The bedside lamp was on, and the fan whirred squeakily.

In the dim light, Chen Zhu stood at the doorway looking at the already asleep Jin Chen; the emotions he had suppressed all day burst forth like a flood, his handsome face hidden in the darkness, masking his gloomy, obsessed gaze.

He approached, lifted the cool blanket covering Jin Chen's belly, sat on the bedside, and began wrapping from the wrist.

"Bao Bao… don't blame me."

Chen Zhu lowered his head, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible, like murmuring.

"You can't leave, I will die."

After tying the arms, Chen Zhu blinked blankly, not knowing how to proceed next, so his gaze wandered around the bedside and settled on the four posts at the head and corners of the bed.

Thus he tied the plastic rope binding the arms to the bedhead; the technique was unskilled but full of obsession.

Both arms were tied; Chen Zhu paused, his fingertips lightly covering Jin Chen's cheek, exhaling warm breath, in the dimness hearing the heartbeat thump-thump.

He discarded all the rationality he had feigned, breathed lightly, lowered his head, and gently kissed the tip of the nose and the corner of the mouth.

In his drowsy sleep, Jin Chen's bound wrists were lifted, gradually curling and clenching.

After a few minutes, his ankles were also bound, the rope looping around the two posts at the foot of the bed.

Having done all this, Chen Zhu again became dazed, his eyes gradually turning helpless and struggling, like a child who has lost everything and is about to lose even the person he loves most.

He had never shown such an expression before; it meant that all that had been repressed had finally broken through.

Thus, when Jin Chen, after waiting a moment, quietly opened his eyes and their gazes met, Chen Zhu's taut string of the day snapped suddenly.

"Brother…"

Jin Chen moved his arm doubtfully, "Why did you tie me up?"

Chen Zhu pretended not to hear Jin Chen's words, sat on the bedside, leaned forward, and hugged Jin Chen tightly; his speech was like a lover's whisper.

"Bao Bao, haven't you always wanted to know my past? Tonight I'll tell you everything."

Jin Chen tested the strength; the unskilled knotting made the knots loose, easy to break free.

So he simply turned his head to bury it in Chen Zhu's embrace, and his wrists began to move slowly.

Chen Zhu wrapped his arm around his shoulder, their skin snugly touching, which gave him the courage to speak of the past.

"I am from Xiangshi; ten years ago, I had just turned eighteen, graduated and found a good job, and within a year I had a car."

"I was happy; after becoming proficient, I took my parents and younger sister out for a drive, but…"

He took a deep breath, clung to Jin Chen with utter lack of security, his voice trembling.

"On the road, an overloaded cargo truck tipped over, several tons of steel bars rolled off… I heard the truck's final horn blast, I panicked, stomped the accelerator trying to get away, but it was still too late… The rolling steel bars slammed into the rear of the car; only I, only I sitting in the front, survived."

"Until today."

"At midnight, when he drifted back in dreams, he could still hear his little sister of a few years old wailing shrilly, hear his dying mother calling 'Bao Bao, don't be afraid'; his father was nearest the window, he didn't even have time to hear his father's voice, only able to see, in a blood‑red blur, his father's body pierced through."

"Chen Zhu didn't know whether that phrase 'Bao Bao, don't be afraid' was directed at his little sister or at himself."

"Perhaps it was the former, but he still relied on those words to get through ten years."

"The truck driver paid a lot of money; I worked in a daze, my emotions constantly collapsing, erratic, and everyone said I had gone mad."

"Half a year after the accident, I began to feel dazed, often acting unconsciously; once during an episode… I sat on a long‑distance bus passing my hometown and left Xiangshi; when I came to, I had already reached the bus terminus, namely this town."

"Tears rolled from the corners of his eyes."

"Chen Zhu wiped away the tear, stroked Jin Chen's back, and suddenly broke into a smile."

"By a twist of fate I ended up staying here; when I arrived I had nothing, no money nor ID, and the master gave me cake to eat."

"The master said… he too was a lonely soul, wanted to take me as his apprentice, and took me to the city for treatment; I regarded him as another father, but not long after… he also died."

"Having finished speaking, Chen Zhu leaned on Jin Chen to calm his emotions, felt delicate kisses land on his cheek, couldn't help but turn his head to return the kiss, discarding all inappropriate reservations."

"A kiss full of pity and comfort, Chen Zhu could feel it, becoming ever more engrossed, his breath quickening from the kiss, even his nerve endings filled with pleasure."

"Chen Zhu deliberately pulled away from the kiss, his face flushed, both hands cupping Jin Chen's face."

"Do you pity me?"

"Jin Chen nodded, the crease between his brows rich with pity."

"Then Bao Bao, have a little more pity for me……" Chen Zhu's voice trembled, his palm sliding down to caress Jin Chen's side neck, feeling the heavy pulse throb, "Don't go, don't leave me."

"We are already the closest people, aren't we? Why would you leave?"

"Chen Zhu's eyes were hurt and greedy; even though their bodies were tightly entwined, he still lacked security, and intense spiritual thirst would torment him mad."

"Chen Zhu, I will not leave you."

"Jin Chen's voice was deep and resonant, he gazed earnestly into his eyes, 'I want to take you to Jing Shi for treatment, then decide whether to return according to your wishes.'"

"But you already have someone you like," Chen Zhu shook his head, tonight's tears would not stop, "You hug and kiss me every day, yet you like someone else… why."

"If you ask one more question during the day, I'll tell you that the person I like is you."

Jin Chen stared at him intently, his deep peach-blossom eyes revealing scorching heat without concealment, his affection profound.

Chen Zhu listened to the voice beside his ear, so frank and sincere, like fireworks suddenly bursting in the night.

"You… the person you like is me?"

He was blown into a dazed consciousness, only able to confirm again, seeking a bit of peace of mind.

"The person I like is you."

Jin Chen also repeated it as he wished, his arms exerting a little force to break free of the already loosened rope knot, then he suddenly grabbed Chen Zhu's waist with force.

"Brother, your rope knot isn't tight enough; do you need me to teach you?"