The Complete Guide to the Use and Care of a Personal a.s.sistant
Translator: Jury
Editor: NomNom
First Published on Chaleuria
Chapter One Hundred and Ten
Rain fell like a waterfall from the sky. The roar of flowing water was especially apparent in the silent night. Occasionally, cars rus.h.i.+ng past created giant waves, and the rainwater splashed as it fell midair and made contact with the ground. Su Yuyang felt as though his heart was being beaten by drumsticks, the thunk thunk thunk growing more intense with every pa.s.sing heartbeat.
Outside the window, the wind blew the rain sideways. The silver lamplight clearly illuminated each drop of rain. Su Yuyang stood in front of the window and gazed at the forest in the distance.
The Mountaintop Gardens was concealed by the forest before Su Yuyang"s eyes.
Maybe Xiao Miao is currently in that forest, Su Yuyang thought impa.s.sionedly. His hand, resting on the windowsill, clenched reflexively into a fist.
Xiao Miao, wait for me, Su Yuyang called silently.
After waking up, Ling Miao didn"t dare shut his eyes again. He stared at the narrow rectangular hole and observed the changes in the sky.
Ling Miao stared at the sky in a daze, the sound of rain echoing in his ears.
Even though it was night outside, the dark and silent room didn"t have a light on. To Ling Miao"s recollection, this room had never had a light on.
Probably, there were no lights in this room at all.
That was all Ling Miao could think about.
Ling Miao lay on the bed and listened to the sounds of rain outside. His face was turned to the light. The drops of clearly defined rain were like glistening silver needles—needles that were piercing his chest. Ling Miao felt his heart hurt.
Without warning, the rain began to fall on Ling Miao"s face. It was cool, and Ling Miao couldn"t help thinking: It"s windy outside. The temperature"s probably low. Did Su Yuyang put on more clothes? He dislikes the cold so much. If he forgot to wear more clothes…
Ling Miao"s thoughts drifted to Su Yuyang.
"Su Yuyang, you"re going to meet Tang Xuan tomorrow. Don"t let anything happen to you!" Ling Miao showed a worried expression.
A pale yellow glow came from the corner and Ling Miao"s gaze was drawn to it. He saw a man holding a candle walking slowly over.
The room, which had been dark all along, was now illuminated. Ling Miao, who was used to the dark, found the candlelight piercing to his eyes.
"Tang Xuan, what are you doing?"
"What am I doing?" Tang Xuan"s savage face suddenly came close to Ling Miao"s. He only stopped when their noses were almost touching.
Tang Xuan seemed to be trying to disgust Ling Miao. He raised his hand and caressed Ling Miao"s face, which was trembling in fear. He sneered, "Of course, it"s to see your expression clearly."
Because of their close proximity, Tang Xuan"s hot breath landed on Ling Miao"s face.
An inexplicable disgust rose in Ling Miao. He said in revulsion, "Scram!"
Tang Xuan watched Ling Miao"s reaction with satisfaction. He said wickedly, "I really should let Su Yuyang see you now."
"You…"
"Ling Miao, say, should I kill you in front of Su Yuyang, or rape you in front of Su Yuyang?" Tang Xuan stared into the flickering candlelight and asked with amus.e.m.e.nt.
Ling Miao didn"t want to choose either. He grit his teeth and aimed a cold glare at the satisfied Tang Xuan. He said haltingly, "Why don"t you do it to yourself."
Tang Xuan"s smile froze. He opened his eyes wide—clearly he hadn"t thought Ling Miao would retort like this.
Tang Xuan only froze for a few seconds. Then he looked Ling Miao over from the bottom up. He caught the flash of panic through Ling Miao"s eyes and mocked: "You"re just putting on a front."
"Ling Miao, I think I should knock Su Yuyang unconscious, then let him see you panting beneath me, then kill you with one blow. You"ll die in endless shame and Su Yuyang will live the rest of his life in a nightmare."
"What do you think?"
Ptui! A gob of spit landed on Tang Xuan"s face. "If you like performing in front of people so much, then you should do it to yourself. If you want to kill someone, kill yourself! What"s killing me worth?"
"Kill myself? If I die, won"t you and Su Yuyang be thrilled?" Tang Xuan grabbed the knife by the pillow. With a whoos.h.i.+ng sound, he stuck it next to Ling Miao"s ear. He lowered his voice and snarled, "Since Su Yuyang makes me unhappy, then I"ll make him unhappy. I"ll shame you and kill you. It"ll ease the hatred in my heart and torture Su Yuyang."
"The moment I think about Su Yuyang cradling your defiled body and howling as he cries, as if he can"t wait to die, I get so happy I want to take you and rush to Su Yuyang immediately."
"f.u.c.king pervert!" Another gob of spit landed on Tang Xuan"s face, but Tang Xuan wiped it away with indifference.
Tang Xuan set the candle down on the cabinet, then picked up the gag and walked over.
Looking at the thing in Tang Xuan"s hand, Ling Miao"s gaze radiated fear.
The gag was much bigger than Ling Miao had expected. As he thought about how long his jaw would be kept open by this thing, he reflexively shut his mouth tight.
Tang Xuan had antic.i.p.ated Ling Miao"s reactions. Without a word, he used his other hand to pinch Ling Miao"s nose shut.
Ling Miao could still hold his breath at first, but after half a minute had pa.s.sed, he couldn"t sustain it any more and opened his mouth. Tang Xuan took the opportunity to shove the ball gag into Ling Miao"s mouth.
"Ling Miao, enjoy your last good dream!" Tang Xuan blew out the candle and the world fell back into darkness.
But how could Ling Miao sleep?
Ling Miao greedily gulped in the air he hated. His eyes, which showed his fear, gradually cleared. Death seemed inevitable. But he didn"t want Su Yuyang to watch him die. And Tang Xuan even wanted to humiliate him in front of Su Yuyang.
Bite my tongue and kill myself? He couldn"t even shut his mouth right now, so how would he bite his tongue? Starving to death wasn"t realistic either. Did he have to wait for Tang Xuan to kill him with the knife?
The rain continued all night. Su Yuyang stared at the gradually lightening sky. His heart had calmed. He warned himself to stay calm because Ling Miao was waiting for him.
Su Yuyang went to the bathroom to shower and left the apartment around nine o"clock.
Tang Xuan sat by the bed. In his left hand he held the knife, in his right, the cloth he was using to polish it. He cleaned the knife until it shone.
Feeling Ling Miao"s body shudder, Tang Xuan mocked: "Scared? Don"t worry. I"m sure I"ll kill you with a single stroke."
"Mm mm mm!" Ling Miao grew uneasy again.
Click— the sound of a lighter.
The candle was set alight again and Ling Miao"s gaze immediately landed on Tang Xuan.
Tang Xuan turned and met Ling Miao"s eyes. Ling Miao saw the heinous smile on Tang Xuan"s face. He wasn"t sure how to react, but he looked at Tang Xuan with a terrified gaze holding a hint of a plea. Without realizing, his eyes filled with tears.
Tang Xuan saw Ling Miao begging for mercy and a sense of achievement overflowed in his heart. He bent down close to Ling Miao"s ear and said, "I want you to suffer and beg for your life in front of Su Yuyang."
As Tang Xuan finished, he picked up the knife and swiftly departed through the door.