Psycho Chapter 12

Chapter 12, Enthral

Ye Zi only saw Hare after the event was over. Surprised, he asked, “What's a brat like you doing here?”

Hare did not respond. Instead, the girls standing around him said, “We invited him to come!”

Nie Haixia walked over and said, “Hubby.”

Ye Zi helped her tidy up her clothes and brushed away the cherry blossom petal stuck on her shoulder. “What can a kid from high school do? Also, don't you idlers forget. His main focus at his age should be to study. Do you really think it's worth his time wasting his whole afternoon here?”

Nie Haixia took his arm and said, “But it's not just the afternoon. We invited him for karaoke as well. He's joining us tonight.”

The girls at the side said, “You don't know, do you, Senior? A lot of girls came today just because he showed up! I bet the forums are gonna get rowdy tonight.”

“You're tagging along tonight as well?” Ye Zi turned to Hare and asked.

Hare's eyes were sparkling. “Can I?” Ah Zi.”

“Woahh~~” The girls expressed their awe.

“Ah Zi, Ah Zi, Ah Zi…You two sound so close. When did your relationship get so good…”

Thus, they headed to the karaoke, surrounded by cheers. Ye Zi's arm was constantly tugged along by Nie Haixia the whole way there.

Meanwhile, Hare was right behind them.

The girls were all crowding by Hare's side, chattering and joking around. But he paid attention to none of it.

No matter how lively things were in the karaoke bar, or how engaging the topics were, he didn't seem to join them. His gaze was constantly following Ye Zi from afar, watching his interactions with the people around him, at how Nie Haixia drank while leaning on him, but his face showed no expression.

But later, when he saw Nie Haixia being led out from a phone call she received, he smiled, and it was such a dazzling smile at that.

The girls at the side said, “Jason, you seem to have gotten in a better mood, hm?”

But Hare just smiled and said nothing.

The incident started from that very call.

After Nie Haixia left for the call, she remained outside for quite a long time and did not return. Half an hour later, Ye Zi was feeling a little worried and decided to call her, but the call wouldn't go through. As he would, Ye Zi left the room and went downstairs to look for his girlfriend.

Meanwhile, Hare followed behind him.

Ye Zi did manage to find Nie Haixia. However, his entire body froze.

She was trying to wrest herself from the grasp of a blonde-haired man.

Nie Haixia hit him with her bag and kept saying, “I'm not going! it's already over! I'm not going! You clearly don't want me anymore!”

But for the strong blonde-haired man, being hit by her was no more than a tickle. The man grabbed her waist and shoulders, seemingly trying to calm her down.

Ye Zi felt the blood boiling through his whole body and his fingers were trembling. He was so furious that his mind was about to pop.

He walked over and struck a fist at the blondie's face, growling, “What the hell are you doing to my girlfriend?!”

The blondie was sent back a few steps from his strike and he spat out some blood from his mouth. Glancing sideways at Ye Zi, he spoke in a flighty tone, “Huh, so that's the poor bastard you were talking about?”

“Ah Chang! Stop!” Nie Haixia shouted.

Nie Haixia actually called him “Ah Chang[1]“. Ye Zi felt like everything he knew was collapsing down on him, and he asked the blondie, “Who the hell are you and what is your relationship with her?”

The blondie laughed out loud and said proudly to Nie Haixia, “Baby, you didn't introduce me to him? That's not very nice.”

Then, he raised up Nie Haixia's chin and kissed her hard.

…

Twenty minutes later, Ye Zi called Nie Haixia's best friend out and spent half an hour interrogating her.

At about 9 PM, he headed to the nearby bar by himself, drinking and drinking in the dark, one glass after the other. Very soon, his surroundings grew hazy and his body was hot, but his mind was strangely sober. The swaying bodies on the dance floor seemed to be doubling up on each other, and the heavy bass of the metal playing in the background felt like they were going to pierce through his eardrums.

He popped open another bottle and poured it straight into his mouth, but it was taken away by someone else. Someone pulled him up in the music, and it instantly felt like the entire world was spinning. Ye Zi couldn't stand at all. Then, he was carried up on someone's back and taken out of the bar.

With the cold winds greeting his skin directly, he couldn't help but shiver.

“Are you okay, Ah Zi?” Hare asked while carrying him Ye Zi along on his back.

“Hic,” Ye Zi belched. “My shoes…My shoes are gonna fall…”

Hare carried Ye Zi over to a bench by the road and helped him down so he could rest against the seat. Then, crouching down, he helped Ye Zi push in his left sneaker and tied up his shoelaces.

Ye Zi's mind was hazy. Looking at Hare's light-colored hair that seemed so soft under the moonlight, his pale ears, long eyelashes, and laughed. “Even if I'm your senior, you don't have to…hic…tie my shoelaces for me…It feels strange…”

Hare looked up at him. “Are you really fine? Do you need to throw up?”

Ye Zi shook his head.

Hare carried Ye Zi on his back again and continued walking.

The breeze blew past them, bringing with it a scent of the fresh grass, and the stone path was still wet with delicate fallen peach blossom petals sticking to it.

Ye Zi weighed down Hare with his full body weight while he looked up at the sky above him.

The white crescent moon was translucent, hidden behind the lingering clouds. The countless stars he could see in the distance were visible at one moment, and gone the next.

Though he wanted to enjoy the night views for a while longer, it didn't actually take long for Ye ZI to fall asleep on Hare's back.

There was a light scent on Hare's body.

It was a familiar scent. A pleasant one.

…

Hare took Ye Zi back to his villa in the outskirts, and Ye Zi finally woke up when Hare was helping him undress. He quickly drove Hare out and, after cleaning himself up for about half an hour in the unfamiliar bathroom, he finally stumbled out. He wore an oversized bathrobe over himself and sat down on the unfamiliar bed. At this time, he had already gotten much more sober than before.

Hare brought Ye Zi a cup of warm water, saying, “Ah Zi, do you feel better now?”

Ye Zi rubbed his temples and responded, “My head's still a little dizzy, but I feel much better. Where are we?”

“My house.”

Ye Zi's face darkened in an instant.

Hare waved his hands innocently. “Don't look at me like that, Senior! I couldn't take you back to the dorms since it was after the curfew and it wasn't too easy finding the way to your place, so I just brought you back with me so I could take care of you easier. Why don't you just head back to school tomorrow?”

Ye Zi sighed. “Thanks for tonight. Oh, by the way, are your parents around?”

Hare shook his head. “My parents don't live with me. I'm usually the only one around. Feels pretty chilly.”

Ye Zi looked around the place, saying, “Yeah, it's quite a waste, isn't it?”

“Then why don't you live with me, Senior?”

Ye Zi clicked his tongue. “Don't push your luck.”

Hare smiled and he asked, “So what happened? Can you tell me?”

Ye Zi wasn't the type to talk behind people's backs, but it might be the alcohol, or even because Hare was the only person in this world who knew of his sins, but he felt that he could tell him everything at this moment. “My girlfriend cheated on me. God, I'm so fucking stupid, how did it take me this long to realize? Even when we were dating, she was still strangely close to her first love from elementary school. They kept contacting each other and it always felt strangely ambiguous.”

“…”

Ye Zi continued, “But now I know. I know why she didn't come last time when we agreed to watch that movie. But why did she lie to me when her mother said she went out to see someone? She lied to me. Her friend wasn't sick at all. She went to see that guy. Her mother wanted me to make sure I wouldn't hurt her, but maybe he's the real reason she's crying…Her friend told me that she would often see that guy, and she actually went back to her hometown with him. It's not like they've been dating for just a few months either…Is it really that fun to play with other people's feelings? And she wouldn't agree to break up with me either…Saying that she can't be without me or whatever…I'm just there as a back-up!…Even though…Even though…”

“Ah Zi…”

Ye Zi raised his head, and his eyes were red. “Even though she clearly looks down on me! She told her friends and her family that I'm poor, that I can't afford a new house, got no money, and that I'm just a poor bastard…She laughed at me…She didn't trust me…She betrayed me!! Even though I'm the one with her, I'm not the one she's thinking about! Even when she holds me, she can just turn around and mess around with some other guy! It's disgusting! It's disgusting!! It's disgusting!!!!”

Ye Zi's face was getting redder and redder. He clawed at his wet head of hair with his hands and the veins on his forehead could clearly be seen bulging from his emotions.

Hare stood in front of Ye Zi and comforted him softly. “Forget about her. Everything will get better.”

Ye Zi still continued to complain. “How could I forget her…How could I…I hate her! I fucking hate her! What am I going to do when I see her in the future? I feel like throwing up just by thinking about her!”

Hare crouched down slowly in front of Ye Zi and looked up at him who was sitting on the bed.

He wiped the tears dripping down Ye Zi's cheek, then he rubbed Ye Zi's hair soft, over and over again, like he was trying to appease a feral little animal.

Hare pressed the warm palms of his hands against the back of Ye Zi's head, pulling him down slightly. Slowly, their faces grew closer, until both their breaths were mixing together. “Let's make another deal, okay?”

“?”

“A murder exchange. Just like last time.” Hare's voice suddenly disappeared, becoming a soft whisper. The feeling of his breaths by his ear felt a little creepy, but Ye Zi who was still light-headed at the moment didn't notice anything strange with it. “I'll kill her for you.”

“…What about me? Who do I kill?” Ye Zi asked.

“My mother's former maid. Ah Zi, this is different from the last time. You can choose. I'm offering to kill for you out of my own volition, so it doesn't matter even if you don't do anything.”

“Why?”

Hare looked at Ye Zi's puzzled expression and smiled helplessly. “Because I like you. I told you that, Ah Zi. You can use me as you wish. I can help you achieve any of your wishes.”

“…”

The distance between the two of them got closer and closer, close enough that he could count the lashes on Hare's eyes.

Ye Zi's head was growing dizzier by the second, and his throat was feeling dry. He could no longer distinguish between dreams and realities anymore.

But Hare didn't do anything. He took his hand off from Ye Zi's head and stood up. “It's late now. Sleep.”

Then, he covered Ye Zi who was lying down on the bed with a blanket, and before turning off the lamp, his soft and charming voice flowed in the air, just like the devil enthralling its prey. “Just have a nice and comfortable sleep. It's okay even if you sleep till the afternoon. All your worries will be gone when you wake up. Good night, Ah Zi.”

Notes:
[1]Ah in a name is used for people who you are close with, like a nickname. Similar to Xiao and ‘Er but the latter steers more towards children or girls.

Chapter end