GBROTAH CH48

“Teacher Xie, here’s your salary for this month. You’ve worked hard during this period.”

Xie Yuanxing was lying in bed, spacing out, when he saw the message. His previously dull expression immediately brightened. He replied with some polite formalities, claimed his salary, and then immediately went to buy the pen he had been coveting for a long time.

The black snake-like ring on his finger rested against the side of his phone. Under the reflection of the phone’s light, the black-and-silver snake seemed to shimmer with silvery dots.

It was a Gi’s Spirit Snake ring, a plain silver-black band with realistic scales. Without the embellishment of diamonds, it exuded a dangerous aura, like a snake lurking in a dark, damp corner, eyeing its prey.

Most importantly, it only cost a little over two thousand yuan. After buying the pen, Xie Yuanxing’s salary was still enough to buy one of these.

He almost didn’t hesitate and immediately found a channel to place an order.

If Xie Yuanxing were buying it for himself, he would never be willing to spend two thousand yuan on a ring. But he had one given to him by X, and he wanted to give one to X as well.

As a pair, they could be considered couple rings.

With a thousand yuan left from his salary, he got up, deciding to go out for a good lunch today.

Xie Yuanxing scampered off the bed, put on his coat, and wrapped his scarf around himself. The slender person was bundled up like a penguin, waddling out of the dorm door.

School was about to start, and shops around the university town were gradually opening for business. Xie Yuanxing found a dry pot restaurant that was open and ordered a single-serving dry pot spare ribs meal for thirty-eight yuan.

There weren’t many people in the restaurant, and the owner was reluctant to turn on the air conditioning. After ordering, Xie Yuanxing poured himself a cup of hot water and cupped the warm mug while he waited.

His phone buzzed twice. Xie Yuanxing reached into his pocket, and the message that appeared was from X.

X: “Baby, are you out of class yet?”

X: “Speaking of which, school is starting soon. Is baby’s part-time job still not on holiday?”

X: “I want to see baby once before school starts. We haven’t seen each other in two months, baby.”

The pheromone detection bracelet on his wrist beeped, the numbers flickering, indicating a fluctuation.

Shen Bianye looked down at it, thinking this broken thing must be malfunctioning.

He casually took it off and tossed it aside.

After seeing the message, Xie Yuanxing first checked the arrival time of the item he bought, and then replied with a slight hint of guilt.

Xie Yuanxing: “My part-time job goes until the day before school starts.”

In reality, it ended a week early because students weren’t made of iron and also needed rest.

But he wanted to wait until the item arrived before meeting X.

X: “Then baby will be starting school right after finishing work.”

X: “That’s too hard, baby.”

X: “I want to see baby, but I also want baby to rest.”

Xie Yuanxing: “It’s okay, just pick a place near the school.”

X: “Okay, I’ll give baby a massage when we meet. I’ll go learn from a master these next few days.”

Xie Yuanxing: “You don’t need to specifically learn that. If you learn it, what will the massage master do when you steal his business?”

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X chuckled: “Only stealing one business from a massage master doesn’t count as industry competition.”

Xie Yuanxing: “You don’t need to do these things. I’m not that tired; I’m doing fine.”

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X: “I love baby; I can’t stand to see baby work hard.”

Wait a minute.

Shen Bianye, who was pondering finding a massage master to come to his home for lessons, suddenly realized something was off.

The meaning of X’s existence was to make Xie Yuanxing happy and let him taste something sweet, right?

But he had already tasted it, though it was sudden, he had indeed tasted it.

Did he still need X to coax him…?

Should he just tell X to break up with Xie Yuanxing?

That wouldn’t be good.

Wouldn’t Xie Yuanxing be heartbroken?

If Xie Yuanxing was sad, he would have to endure bitterness every day, which also seemed not good.

Shen Bianye wrestled with his thoughts, but his hand didn’t stop contacting the massage master for a home visit. He never once considered the option of having a massage master go to Xie Yuanxing’s school dorm.

The day before A University’s science and engineering departments started school, although classes hadn’t officially begun, many people were already rushing back to campus with their belongings.

The school gate was bustling with shuttle buses, taxis, and waves of students.

Xie Yuanxing walked against the flow of people out of the school gate and, following the address, arrived at a hotel near the university.

“Baby.”

After entering the room, it was pitch black. A tall figure embraced him in the darkness, then chuckled the next second: “It’s like hugging a penguin, baby.”

“Is it that cold?”

As he spoke, X traced down Xie Yuanxing’s arm, found his hand hidden in his sleeve, and found it icy cold, like touching a piece of jade in the snow in winter.

In the darkness, X frowned, found both of Xie Yuanxing’s hands, and rubbed them in his palms. “Why are your hands so cold?”

Xie Yuanxing: “My constitution is like this.”

He tried to pull his hands away but couldn’t, then pushed him: “Wait, I have something for you.”

X didn’t let go, insisting on warming Xie Yuanxing’s hands before releasing them. “What is it?”

Xie Yuanxing’s tone was joyful, like a bird fluttering its wings: “It’s a gift!”

In the darkness, Xie Yuanxing fumbled and placed two boxes into X’s hands. The hard cases pressed against his hands, making his heart soften.

X: “A gift for me, baby?”

“Two?”

X sighed, softly saying, “Baby.”

“Why are you so good, baby?” His voice was gentle, with a magnetic, husky undertone: “My Xingxing baby.”

The gifts were put directly into his overcoat pocket. Xie Yuanxing’s palm was also filled with something.

X murmured almost incessantly, as if chewing the words in his mouth in the darkness: “Baby, Xingxing baby.”

“Still the same, press it if you want me to stop, baby.”

Xie Yuanxing tilted his head, wanting to avoid it, wanting to put this switch away. His expression was a little flustered and helpless. “Wait, wait, why do you always give me this?”

“Doesn’t it hurt when you’re always getting shocked?”

X looked at him in the darkness, at his beautiful face, his bewildered blinking eyes. An Alpha’s vision was excellent, but he still couldn’t clearly see the tear mole hidden beneath his eye.

X could only guess how that tear mole shimmered when Xie Yuanxing tilted his head.

His Adam’s apple bobbed silently. X only felt thirsty. “Baby, if there’s no restraint, I’m afraid I might do something bad to baby.”

Xie Yuanxing looked confused: “What bad thing?”

X’s hand touched Xie Yuanxing’s full lips, strangely, as if chuckling, “Like forcing baby to suck my twenty.”

Then ejaculate on baby’s face, dirtying that beautiful tear mole.

The latter half of the sentence was swallowed. His pheromones, however, suddenly became agitated. They were scalding hot and boiling, clashing, wanting to vent, but were fiercely suppressed by the collar on his neck.

Xie Yuanxing’s hand trembled, almost pressing the button in his hand. His expression was flustered and embarrassed. “You…”

X had said something similar on WeChat, but hearing it directly still made Xie Yuanxing’s face burn almost to a crisp.

X chuckled, his thumb pressing on the lips that seemed to have heated up from his words, “Just teasing baby. Just one kiss, okay?”

While casually saying he was just teasing, his mind uncontrollably began to think of those secret, unspeakable thoughts, those lewd images.

His pheromones clashed inside him, making his blood ache. X couldn’t control it, nor did he want to.

The flushed baby, teased, was surprisingly obedient beneath him. He didn’t hide when he felt him approach, his eyelashes trembling in anticipation of the coming kiss.

X leaned in. Just as he was about to kiss him, Xie Yuanxing suddenly turned his head and started coughing violently.

“Cough cough… cough, what’s that smell…?”

The collar on X’s neck was still there, but it had reached its limit in suppressing the pheromones. In the dark hotel room, the scent of embers after a great fire filled the air in the blink of an eye.

Without the reminder from the pheromone detection bracelet on his wrist, Shen Bianye hadn’t even realized that his pheromones had fluctuated and expanded to the point where even the pheromone-blocking collar couldn’t suppress them.

The backlash from those suppressants only began to show its signs at this moment, but no one was in the mood to care.

Shen Bianye froze. He wanted to rein in his counterproductive pheromones, but found they continued to excite uncontrollably.

He couldn’t control them, couldn’t hide them. How was he going to explain this smell?

How was he going to explain that X, despite being a Beta, had Alpha pheromones?

And by such a coincidence, the pheromones were the same scent as Xie Yuanxing’s roommate, Shen Bianye.

Under the threat of things spiraling out of control, Shen Bianye’s brain raced, practically racking his brains for any sliver of a reason to explain the current situation.

He opened his mouth, unable to speak.

The room was silent except for Xie Yuanxing’s coughing. He was almost unable to breathe, coughing so hard that tears welled up in his eyes.

Shen Bianye instinctively reached out to pat his back. As his hand landed, Xie Yuanxing abruptly retreated, stumbling backward directly into the bathroom by the door in his panic.

Shen Bianye had booked this hotel near the school, but it was his first time there. It was also his first time knowing that when someone walked into the bathroom, the automatic sensor night light would turn on.

Pheromones might still be deniable, but the moment the light came on, everything was exposed.

Shen Bianye used all his strength in his life, managing to stand in place, but his body was stiff with tension. He could barely feel his body’s existence.

If he could, Shen Bianye wished he could abandon this body and float away.

He rarely had such an awkward and flustered moment in his life. As he met Xie Yuanxing’s gaze, he opened his mouth. Air rushed into his throat, as if it had cut him mute: “I…”

Shen Bianye stammered, “I used this identity because, well, you tasted too bitter when I bit you, and I thought, what if someone coaxed you, then maybe I’d taste sweet? Do you… do you… understand?”

Xie Yuanxing suppressed his cough, his eyes misty with tears, as if he was about to cry. It was unclear whether it was physiological tears from choking or something else. “First, put away your pheromones.”

Shen Bianye’s body stiffened even more. He didn’t dare say that his pheromones were currently brushing against Xie Yuanxing, one by one. He said dryly, “I can’t. I need suppressants.”

As if remembering something, he paused, then turned and walked inside. “There should be a self-scan box for purchases in the hotel room.”

“Bear with it. I’ll go buy some.”

In the few steps he walked further into the room, Shen Bianye’s mind was a mess. He hadn’t expected Xie Yuanxing to be so calm when he spoke. As he walked, he wondered why.

Wasn’t Xie Yuanxing surprised?

Why?

Why was he so calm, why?

Shen Bianye took out his phone and scanned the QR code for self-purchase. As the page loaded, he subconsciously glanced towards the door out of the corner of his eye. The wall blocked his view, but he heard the sound of a door closing.

The useless electric shock-blocking collar around his neck seemed to tighten with the sound of the door closing. Shen Bianye reached up and clutched it, then snapped it with raw force, tearing it off his neck.

Xie Yuanxing walked back to school with his head down, sending a message on his phone—to Shen Bianye’s WeChat, not X’s.

“I’m leaving now. You don’t need to inject suppressants anymore.”

He pursed his lips and put his phone away.

The cold wind was biting, stinging his face. Xie Yuanxing didn’t look particularly disheveled, but he certainly wasn’t well. His nose was red, his eyes were red, and his expression wasn’t good either.

So much so that when Lin Xiuming met him at the school gate, he was completely surprised. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Why do you look like your husband died?”

Xie Yuanxing gave him a faint glance, saying nothing.

Lin Xiuming: “What happened? Tell me?”

Xie Yuanxing: “It’s hard to explain, it’s quite long. If I had to explain, it would probably start from when you were in junior high and got chased by girls screaming you were blind and should poke your eyes out, and if you couldn’t talk, you should bite off your tongue and die.”

Lin Xiuming’s expression was complex, suspecting Xie Yuanxing was using past events to retort him.

In reality, though he spoke with a light, teasing tone, Xie Yuanxing himself found it hard to smile.

Although he had long known this day would come, facing it, his heart felt as if it were being scraped by pebbles. It wasn’t pain, but it was very uncomfortable.

He didn’t want to go back to the dorm for now and refused Lin Xiuming’s suggestion to go to his dorm.

Lin Xiuming was an Omega, and male Betas were not allowed in his dorm.

It was fine during the winter break when there weren’t many other people, but now that school was about to start, there were more people, and it wasn’t appropriate for him to go in.

Moreover, Omegas needed to swipe their cards to enter and exit the dorms. Usually, there would be a dorm supervisor checking if the face displayed on the card matched the person. Although it was still the day before school started, most dorm supervisors had already started work.

In the class group chat, the class monitor was asking if anyone was already at school to pick up books from the fifth floor of the comprehensive building. Xie Yuanxing thought for a moment and replied, “I’ll go.”

The school gate was some distance from the comprehensive building. Xie Yuanxing walked over with a calm expression, the redness around his eyes fading, showing no sign that he had just cried.

When X asked him if he wanted to date online, he had the power to start the relationship.

But the power to end the relationship was not in his hands.

He thought it was in X’s hands, but it wasn’t; it was in the hands of accidents, in the hands of Shen Bianye’s countless suppressants.

Xie Yuanxing was very clear. He knew that the moment he smelled the pheromones, everything ended. He was just a little, a tiny bit sad.

The fifth floor of the comprehensive building was crowded. People from each class were lining up.

Besides Xie Yuanxing, two other people from his class had also come. One of them was the class monitor who had called for people in the group chat. He greeted Xie Yuanxing upon seeing him, and Xie Yuanxing responded to each one.

“How was your winter break?”

“Nothing much to do. During New Year’s, I spent every day visiting relatives, it was annoying.”

The class monitor looked at Xie Yuanxing, “What about you? How was it?”

Xie Yuanxing: “It was alright. I worked part-time, so I didn’t have to visit relatives.”

A classmate said, “Part-time job, huh? I wanted to find one too, but I thought working during New Year’s would be too miserable.”

Xie Yuanxing smiled: “It wasn’t too bad.”

“But it’s good you didn’t go, after all, you can work your whole life once you graduate.”

Classmate: “You’re ruthless.”

Class monitor: “Right.”

The three queued up. Xie Yuanxing looked at the somewhat hazy sky outside the corridor. In his vision, plump sparrows bent the branches.

Xie Yuanxing thought that besides love, he should also thank X for giving him spiritual solace when he had just been admitted to university, leaving his aunt and uncle’s family, that suffocating environment, and still avoiding contact with those around him.

Allowing him now to integrate normally into the crowd.

The pheromones that had messed up everything quieted down after Xie Yuanxing left. Shen Bianye checked out of the hotel. As he reached into his pocket for the room card, he touched the two boxes Xie Yuanxing had given him.

The front desk clerk smiled and asked him, “Sir, checking out so soon? Was something unsatisfactory?”

Shen Bianye’s voice was as cold as an ice cellar. “Why do the sensor lights under the bathroom mirror turn on even without a room card inserted?”

He was asking the front desk, and also asking himself in his heart.

Why did he take off the pheromone detection bracelet? Why didn’t he inject suppressants before coming?

The front desk clerk was stunned by these questions and quickly said, “I’m very sorry, sir, our service was inadequate. Your room fee will be refunded to your account within an hour.”

Shen Bianye shook his head, “No need.”

He turned and walked out of the hotel entrance, reaching into his pocket for the two boxes—one long, one square.

The long box opened to reveal a silver-white fountain pen, beautiful like a work of art.

The square box opened to reveal a silver-black ring, identical to the one Shen Bianye had given.

When he had warmed Xie Yuanxing’s hands today, he had also felt the ring on Xie Yuanxing’s hand, so this wasn’t his, it was one Xie Yuanxing bought.

A Montblanc fountain pen, a Gi ring. Shen Bianye knew their worth and their prices. He knew that together, they almost cost twenty thousand yuan.

He also knew that Xie Yuanxing’s two months of work, plus the triple pay for seven days during New Year, only amounted to a little over twenty thousand yuan.

Working from nine to seven every day, in the freezing winter, for two months, not even resting during New Year, just to buy gifts for X?

Shen Bianye suddenly gripped the boxes tightly in his hand. The hard cases pressed into his palm. Compared to the time Xie Yuanxing had handed him the items, this time he finally felt a dull ache.

The two boxes lay quietly on the table.

Zhou Chao, who called Shen Bianye to drink and learned that Shen Bianye was already out drinking, raised an eyebrow at the sight of the two boxes, one long and one square. “From Xie Yuanxing?”

Shen Bianye gulped down the liquor in his hand, his voice muffled, “Mm.”

Zhou Chao said casually, “It’s alright. You gave him so many things, money. Him giving you some gifts is nothing.”

Shen Bianye: “No, he bought these from two months of work.”

“On New Year’s Eve, wasn’t he working? It was to get his salary to buy this.”

Zhou Chao shook his head, tutting, “Big spender, huh? Two months’ salary all gone on this.”

Shen Bianye poured himself another drink, downed it, and set the glass down. The crisp sound of ice clinking against the glass made his mind increasingly unclear.

“Xie Yuanxing wasn’t surprised that it was me, why?”

“His eyes were a little flustered, but not surprised.”

Zhou Chao said lazily, “What’s there to why? He knew it was you all along.”

This answer had actually been lingering in Shen Bianye’s heart, but he hadn’t dared to believe it. Now that Zhou Chao had pointed it out nakedly, Shen Bianye was still shocked.

“He knew it was me, and he still dated?!

“And still saved money to buy me such expensive gifts?!”

The bitterness, regret, and overwhelming suffocation from the hotel room seemed to dissipate.

Shen Bianye’s expression was distressed and shocked: “Xie Yuanxing couldn’t possibly like me, could he?”

“That shouldn’t be, it can’t be.”

“I often say sarcastic things to keep him from having extra thoughts, to prevent him from liking me. And he still likes me?”

He asked suspiciously, “Is Xie Yuanxing an M?”

Zhou Chao: “…If you spout more nonsense, Xie Yuanxing might slap you if he hears it.”

Shen Bianye’s mind was racing, and his mouth was quick: “Do you think he hasn’t slapped me?”

Zhou Chao: …

Shen Bianye, who had caught on: …

Zhou Chao’s expression was complex: “You’re not angry?”

Shen Bianye: “What’s there to be angry about? It didn’t hurt much anyway.”

Zhou Chao looked at him, his gaze carrying a complex emotion of re-evaluating him, deeply and quite confusedly asking, “Who exactly is the M here?”

Shen Bianye coughed twice: “That time was an accident.”

“It was an accident, so I couldn’t possibly trouble him, could I?”

Zhou Chao: “…An accident…?”

Shen Bianye shoved the glass into his hand, “Alright, drink.”

Zhou Chao said faintly, “I don’t black out when I drink.”

“Are you trying to hit me over the head when I’m drunk, to give me physical amnesia?”

Shen Bianye clicked his tongue: “Am I that kind of person?”

“Besides, do I know any fewer embarrassing stories about you? The Omega you used to date actually had a boyfriend but lied to you about it. Who saved you when you were almost caught in the act?”

Zhou Chao’s tone deepened, and he muttered, “Let’s drink.”

Both sighed. The wine in Shen Bianye’s glass was empty again. He swirled the ice cubes in his glass, remembering the tiny bit of snow on Xie Yuanxing’s eyelashes.

He should have reached out and removed it then. Anyway, Xie Yuanxing knew he was X and liked him, so he probably wouldn’t have dodged.

Xie Yuanxing liked him.

Xie Yuanxing actually liked him.

Xie Yuanxing knew he was X, knew it, and still let X lick his tear mole, and was still willing to kiss X, and still bought X gifts.

Did he like him before knowing he was X, or after knowing he was X?

Did he like X because he knew he was X, or did he like X because X was him?

No, no, no, that’s not the point.

The point is.

Xie Yuanxing liked him.

Shen Bianye frowned: “He’s making me so annoyed. He shouldn’t, he can’t like me.”

Zhou Chao: “You control everything, can you even control who someone likes or dislikes?”

“If worst comes to worst, just look in the mirror.”

Shen Bianye scoffed: “Do you think I’m not good enough for him?”

“I’m not good enough for a Beta?”

“Besides, he likes me. Why should I look in the mirror?”

“No, I have to go back to school and see him.”

No, looking in the mirror was to see that his expression didn’t look annoyed.

Before Zhou Chao could even voice his thoughts, he watched Shen Bianye grab the boxes and leave, so fast that he didn’t have time to say a single word.

Zhou Chao: …

He looked at the table full of wine and the empty private room, his face gloomier and more genuine than Shen Bianye’s had been just moments ago.

Since meeting Xie Yuanxing, how many times had Shen Bianye flaked on him? He was managing a fireworks factory, not a damn pigeon factory.

Forget it. With Shen Bianye’s single-minded personality, if he went to find Xie Yuanxing now, Zhou Chao wouldn’t believe it if he didn’t get rebuffed by Xie Yuanxing.

Zhou Chao chuckled, with a hint of schadenfreude.

When Shen Bianye returned to the dorm, it was already ten o’clock. As soon as he entered, his expression changed slightly.

“What does this mean?”

On his desk sat a Patek Philippe Celestial watch, a diamond brooch, a pair of diamond cufflinks, and a neatly folded tuxedo.

Shen Bianye said coldly, “You’re returning things you’ve used to me? Who wants them?”

He had just finished speaking when he paused again.

Sometimes, he deliberately spoke harshly to prevent Xie Yuanxing from having extra thoughts, to avoid Xie Yuanxing liking him.

But even though he did so, Xie Yuanxing still liked him.

Perhaps there was no need to speak so unkindly after all; it wasn’t effective anyway.

So, changing his tone, Shen Bianye said somewhat uncomfortably, “Keep them. Consider it compensation for you.”

“You can keep these items to use, or you can sell them. If you sell them, plus the money I’ll give you when the contract ends, you should have enough to buy the house you want.”

Xie Yuanxing shook his head, stating calmly, “No need.”

Shen Bianye took those items and placed them in front of Xie Yuanxing, “I said, if I gave them to you, they’re yours.”

“You don’t want money, are you stupid?”

Just as he was about to withdraw his hand, Xie Yuanxing suddenly pressed down on it.

Shen Bianye’s expression immediately became strange. Xie Yuanxing holding his hand, he really did like him.

What did holding his hand mean? If Xie Yuanxing were to ask if the relationship with X could continue between them, how could he appropriately refuse?

Being too harsh wouldn’t do; it had already been proven that it wouldn’t push Xie Yuanxing away, only hurt him.

It wouldn’t be good if Xie Yuanxing cried.

So how to refuse?

Would simply saying “we can’t be together” not be subtle enough?

Thoughts flashed through his mind, but only a few seconds had actually passed.

Xie Yuanxing released his hand, but his gaze remained on Shen Bianye’s hand. “The ring on your hand, can you take it off?”

“That’s for X.”

In an instant, all thoughts vanished.

Shen Bianye’s face turned ugly. He asked in a deep voice, “What do you mean? Didn’t you give this to me?”

Xie Yuanxing shook his head, looked up at him, his eyes serious: “No, that’s what I gave to my boyfriend, X.”

Shen Bianye curled his lips into a smile that wasn’t a smile, “It’s impossible for me to be your boyfriend. This is my fault, but it’s good that you know. Consider these items compensation. If you ever need help with anything in the future, you can come to me. I owe you.”

“I originally liked the design of this ring, so I’ll keep it.”

Xie Yuanxing’s attitude towards him was very calm. Shen Bianye said it was impossible for him to be his boyfriend, and he showed no sadness whatsoever.

He pushed those items towards Shen Bianye, as if pushing away the distance between them.

“These, I don’t want.”

Xie Yuanxing bit his lip, asking again, more directly: “I didn’t ask you to be my boyfriend. The ring, can you take it off? That wasn’t given to you.”

Shen Bianye unconsciously clenched his hand. The metal ring pressed painfully into his fingers. The snake’s scales imprinted on the inner sides of his index finger.

He looked at Xie Yuanxing, his eyes dark, staring intently, not missing a single expression on Xie Yuanxing’s face. Then, he spoke in a voice almost squeezed out, “What do you mean?”

“What you gave to X, wasn’t that given to me?”

“What’s the difference?”

Shen Bianye forcibly suppressed an indescribable anger in his heart, saying each word distinctly: “I am X, aren’t I?”

He questioned him repeatedly, pressing him, his expression utterly cold, like a volcano at its peak, about to erupt. Anyone could see the turbulent rage beneath his calm exterior.

X was just a false identity, based on Shen Bianye, based on his existence.

How dare Xie Yuanxing acknowledge X and not him?!

Xie Yuanxing lowered his gaze, as if about to retreat, but spoke with firm resolve: “You are not X. The ring I gave to X, you cannot wear.”

Shen Bianye looked at him with a dark expression for a long time, then suddenly laughed, pointing at the pile of items on the table, his eyes burning, “You say I’m not X?”

“Then weren’t all these things given to you by X? Why are you returning them to me?!” He suddenly raised his voice, asking sharply, “Why are you putting them on my desk?!”

Xie Yuanxing’s body trembled imperceptibly. He pursed his lips and stubbornly whispered, “The ring, can you take it off?”

The most imposing and powerful person, at this moment, seemed to have suffered a huge blow. Waves of dizziness washed over his brain, making Shen Bianye feel a sense of powerlessness.

He suddenly realized that Xie Yuanxing might know X was him, but in Xie Yuanxing’s mind, they were two people, completely separate individuals.

Good.

This is good.

Just what he wanted.

Shen Bianye turned his back, his clenched jaw making his expression blank, almost distorted. His fingers clenched into a fist, then slowly relaxed.

He reached out and removed the ring, instinctively clutching it in his palm. The cold, hard metal scales and sharp snake tail dug painfully into his palm.

Blood flowed from his palm into the creases of his fingers, a sticky fullness, like crushed unwillingness.

One ring, he couldn’t wear it.

Heh.

“It’s off,” the person with his back to Xie Yuanxing said coldly.