After speaking, Qi Bailu lowered his head and resumed folding his clothes, slowly smoothing the wrinkles on a pair of pajamas. The fabric was real silk, and he spent a long time fussing over it without success. He paused, suddenly remembering that Zheng Kunyu had bought these when they vacationed in Japan together; Zheng Kunyu had an identical set. Qi Bailu put the pajamas back on the hanger, intending to hang them back in the wardrobe.
Just as he reached the wardrobe, the scuffing of slippers sounded behind him. Zheng Kunyu, who had been silent until now, walked up and grabbed his arm. His grip was so forceful that Qi Bailu was nearly flipped over. Zheng Kunyu slammed him against the wardrobe door and said coldly, "Say that again."
Their eyes met. Zheng Kunyu’s expression was dark and unpredictable, his words laced with intimidation. Qi Bailu was not afraid of him; he pushed against Zheng Kunyu’s chest. This time, he pushed him away without much effort, perhaps because Zheng Kunyu’s entire focus was concentrated in his cold, hard gaze.
"I am leaving you."
Qi Bailu’s face was expressionless, but he spoke with absolute gravity. Having said his piece, he bypassed Zheng Kunyu to continue packing. He knelt to snap the latches of the suitcase shut, then gripped the handle to stand it up. Zheng Kunyu followed him again. With his hand on the luggage handle, Qi Bailu turned back. "You don't ask why, because you know the answer in your heart."
"What do I know?"
"You and I should never have ended up like this."
Zheng Kunyu pressed closer, stepping right up to him. Qi Bailu’s gaze rose to follow his movements. Zheng Kunyu stood firm before him, creating an overbearing sense of pressure. "Do you think you have the final say?"
"You don't want to hear these words because you are used to giving orders. Then let me put it another way. I’ll say: Zheng Kunyu, I beg of you, I beg you to let me go. Would you agree then?"
Zheng Kunyu did not answer. Qi Bailu provided the answer himself: "You wouldn't."
Back then, when Qi Bailu had begged him so humbly, Zheng Kunyu hadn't let go, let alone now. Qi Bailu knew that Zheng Kunyu was a man impervious to both soft pleas and hard demands.
"Since you know I won't, who are you putting on this performance for?"
"Zheng Kunyu, I don't love you, and you don't love me either. I’ve had enough." Qi Bailu’s tone was calm. He glanced at the suitcase in his hand, then looked up again. "There are plenty of people willing to cling to you. Go find them and stop looking for me. Haven't you grown tired of me anyway?"
Zheng Kunyu’s eyes flickered. It was unclear which specific word had provoked him, but his face suddenly contorted. He reached out and shoved Qi Bailu’s shoulder hard. Caught off guard, Qi Bailu tumbled backward onto the bed, the suitcase slipping from his hand.
As Qi Bailu tried to sit up, Zheng Kunyu knelt on the bed with one knee, bracing his hands on either side of Qi Bailu’s body and leaning down. Qi Bailu retreated instinctively, his hands pressing against the sheets as he backed away, only to be dragged back by Zheng Kunyu, who hooked a hand behind his knee. Zheng Kunyu repeated himself, his voice heavy with emphasis: "Until I say stop, you don't have the right to leave."
Qi Bailu glared at him for a moment, then simply went limp on the bed, staring at the ceiling. While he looked at the ceiling, Zheng Kunyu watched his face. Qi Bailu suddenly let out a cold laugh. "What is this supposed to be?"
As he said this, Zheng Kunyu moved the hand that had been pressing on his knee to his face. After a moment of silence, Zheng Kunyu softened his tone. "I was in the wrong tonight." Before Qi Bailu could speak, Zheng Kunyu kissed his cheek, then moved to his lips, forcing his tongue into his mouth.
The kiss didn't last long, but it was forceful. The moment Zheng Kunyu released him, Qi Bailu turned his head away and wiped his lips with the back of his hand. At this gesture, Zheng Kunyu’s gaze sharpened instantly. Qi Bailu said flatly, " I’m not acting out or throwing a tantrum, so you can drop this act. If you want to force yourself on me, go ahead, but this is the last time."
For some reason, Zheng Kunyu actually began to smile slowly. To Qi Bailu’s surprise, Zheng Kunyu did not move to tear at his clothes or employ his usual methods of sexual torment. Instead, he let go and sat upright, a cruel light flashing in his eyes. He looked askance at Qi Bailu, fine lines of laughter appearing at the corners of his eyes. "Do you think you're doing charity? A buy-one-get-one-free deal? Without me, what exactly do you think you are?"
Zheng Kunyu rarely smiled, and seeing him do so now was chilling. Qi Bailu got off the bed and stood far away from him, but Zheng Kunyu suddenly grabbed his hand. He squeezed Qi Bailu’s fingers, his thumb rubbing intimately against the back of his hand. "I’d like to know where you could possibly go without me."
Qi Bailu seemed to scent danger in advance, an invisible barrier rising around him. He took a step back, trying to pull his hand away, but Zheng Kunyu stood up with him. Their arms formed a straight line, making it look as though Qi Bailu was the one pulling him up. Zheng Kunyu said, "Everything you have now was given to you by me. Where will you go? Quit the industry? Go home? What can you do if you aren't an actor? Don't forget, you even gave up your undergraduate degree."
Qi Bailu instinctively backed away, his eyes misting over, guarding himself like a hedgehog raising its quills. Zheng Kunyu’s smile faded. He slid his hand up to grip Qi Bailu’s wrist. "Want to go home? Your father can barely look after himself; you’ve been homeless for a long time." Qi Bailu had retreated almost to the wall. Behind him was an ornamental fish tank containing nothing but water and withered aquatic plants. He was forced to stop as Zheng Kunyu pressed in close.
Zheng Kunyu looked down at him. "Oh, and then there's your uncle. Your uncle sold you to me for a mere three hundred thousand. They all treat you like a plaything. No one wants you. Only I want you."
At those words, Qi Bailu’s entire body began to tremble. Zheng Kunyu stroked his cheekbone with the back of his hand as if pitying him, whispering, "What are you shaking for?" He could see that Qi Bailu was on the verge of a breakdown, yet he pushed further. "Which part did I get wrong?"
Qi Bailu could endure no more. He raised his other hand and swung it toward Zheng Kunyu’s face. Zheng Kunyu dodged quickly, avoiding the blow to his face, but the glasses on the bridge of his nose were caught by the strike. They were knocked off, skidding across the floor. The glasses lay silently in the distance, one lens shattered into a web of cracks.
Zheng Kunyu reacted swiftly, pinning Qi Bailu’s wrist. Like a gathering storm cloud, he looked at Qi Bailu with a dark, somber face. Qi Bailu shouted, "I don't want you!" As if fearing Zheng Kunyu wouldn't understand, he screamed hysterically, "I don't want you! I don't want anything anymore! I'll give it all back! What else do you want? Take it all!"
Zheng Kunyu remained motionless. Without the concealment of his glasses, his gaze was almost ferocious. Seeing that look, Qi Bailu actually grew quiet amidst his gasping breaths. "You want my entire being, don't you? I gave you my life once already. If you want me dead, then I'll just go and die."
This quiet, neurotic state was actually his most terrifying, but Zheng Kunyu was in a fit of rage, just as mad as he was. Qi Bailu’s defiant slap had clearly incensed him. Losing control, Zheng Kunyu threw Qi Bailu aside. The force of the shove slammed Qi Bailu against the fish tank. His head hit the float glass, and the pain brought tears to his eyes.
When they had first moved into the lakeside villa, Zheng Kunyu thought Qi Bailu would enjoy keeping fish, so he had placed an exaggeratedly large tank in his room, much like the one in the movie *Romeo + Juliet*. But Qi Bailu was often away filming and didn't like the maid entering his room; eventually, all the fish died. At the time, Qi Bailu had stood barefoot on a chair, scooping the fish out one by one with a look of great sadness. Zheng Kunyu had stood by with a bucket, and Qi Bailu had even chided him, saying he shouldn't have bought it.
Zheng Kunyu looked at him and took two steps back. Although the impact hadn't been severe and Qi Bailu had held back his tears, Zheng Kunyu suddenly felt that the whole situation was utterly pointless. He stopped looking at him, walked over, and bent down to pick up his glasses. He held them in his hand and slowly put them back on.
Qi Bailu paused for a moment, then went to grab his suitcase and his backpack. Zheng Kunyu looked up at him. Though he didn't move to stop him, he pronounced his sentence clearly: "You will regret this."
Qi Bailu knew what kind of means the man possessed, but how would he know unless he tried? He had been trapped here for too long; he couldn't stay trapped until he died. Qi Bailu put on his coat, clearly intending to leave that very night. Behind him, Zheng Kunyu regained his composure. "Bailu, next time, you won't have this kind of freedom."
From the sound of his voice, he had already decided how to deal with him. Qi Bailu did not look back, wheeling his suitcase out the door. The sound of the rollers grew distant. It wasn't easy to carry so many things down the stairs; Zheng Kunyu heard him seem to stumble on the last flight, and then the footsteps faded into nothingness. He was gone, and all sound slowly vanished.
Zheng Kunyu glanced at the messy bed and wardrobe. His faint reflection appeared on the glass of the fish tank. He was tired tonight as well. After a while, he lay down on the bed, unconcerned that it was actually Qi Bailu’s room. The lens was thoroughly shattered. Looking through the broken glass, the ceiling was covered in a fine web of cracks, as if the entire world were about to collapse.
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Countless Blossoms: The Actor's Gamble | Chapter 28 | The Empty Tank | Novela.app | Novela.app
