Chapter 95: More (1)
Shao Xinyuan’s mindscape hadn’t changed from the first time Wenzhi had stepped into it. It was still a broken world suspended in an endless void.
Massive chunks of rock drifted through the darkness. Fragments of debris floated aimlessly like the remains of a broken city.
Wenzhi stood still for a moment, looking around until he spotted him.
Xinyuan was crouched on the ground not far away with his head lowered, motionless.
The sight immediately made Wenzhi pause.
The entire thing felt unsettling.
Instead of walking over, Wenzhi climbed onto one of the floating pieces of debris and sat down.
He crossed one leg over the other and stared. "Are you going to pretend I’m not here?"
Slowly, Xinyuan raised his head, eyes glowing crimson. The chains spread across the side of his face, around his neck and over his hands.
Even here, inside his own mind, the corruption followed him.
Wenzhi pressed his lips together. "You look horrible."
Xinyuan ignored the comment entirely, rasping. "Did you find her?"
Wenzhi nodded. "Yes. She gave me supports."
Relief washed across Xinyuan’s face so quickly he couldn’t hide it. His shoulders loosened.
The tension around him eased and for the first time since Wenzhi arrived, he looked like he could breathe.
Wenzhi noticed something else. That familiar hunger. That longing... That.... Need.
Xinyuan finally pushed himself to his feet. "Is she still here?" Dark red haze escaped with his breath.
Wenzhi chuckled. "Are you really interested in that right now?"
Xinyuan said nothing to that. Which only made Wenzhi smile wider. Because he could see exactly how hard Xinyuan was holding himself back.
The effort was almost painful to watch.
Eventually Wenzhi pushed himself off the floating debris and landed lightly on the ground. He started walking toward him, step by step while holding his gaze.
"Wake up."
Uncertainty crossed Xinyuan’s face. "I don’t think...."
"I’ll help you, Xinyuan." Wenzhi cut him off immediately. "So wake up."
Xinyuan nodded and suddenly they were back in the room. Back... in reality.
Xinyuan’s bright crimson eyes opened and a violent wave burst from his body.
The walls trembled. The air itself seemed to shake.
Wenzhi didn’t hesitate for a second. He leaned forward immediately closing the distance before Xinyuan could lose himself again.
Their lips met and Xinyuan reacted like a man finally allowed to breathe.
A rough breath escaped him as he pulled Wenzhi closer.
His body rushed upright. One arm wrapping around Wenzhi instinctively. Holding him there and anchoring himself.
"Mmmh..." Wenzhi pressed a hand against his chest to feel him... To guide him.... To let their wavelengths touch.
The moment they connected, sensations of relief, exhaustion, pain, hunger, possessiveness and fear crashed into Wenzhi at once.
They were so raw and unfiltered. So overwhelming they stole his breath.
Their connection had always been strong but this felt different... Deeper. Wenzhi couldn’t even tell where his emotions ended and Xinyuan’s began. All he knew was that beneath the corruption, beneath the violence, beneath the endless hunger, Xinyuan had been waiting for him.
He immediately climbed onto Xinyuan’s lap, straddling him.
At the same time, he broke the kiss just long enough to pull Xinyuan’s shirt over his head.
Xinyuan wasted no time doing the same.
Their shirts disappeared somewhere onto the floor as their lips found each other again.
Skin pressed against skin. Heat against heat. Their breaths mingled between desperate kisses, teeth clashing, tongues meeting as they held onto each other.
Xinyuan’s arms wrapped tightly around Wenzhi’s waist, keeping him close, refusing to leave even an inch of space between them.
Wenzhi could feel how hot Xinyuan’s skin was... Too hot. His fingers slid into Xinyuan’s hair as he focused on the guiding connection, trying to feel for a change.
But the corruption had only shifted slightly.
This wasn’t enough.
Wenzhi moved against him, and Xinyuan released a rough breath.
The next second, Xinyuan’s hand tightened around his waist.
The world flipped.
Wenzhi’s back hit the mattress. Xinyuan was above him looking completely consumed. His lips found the side of Wenzhi’s neck immediately, trailing downward in a trail of kisses along his throat, collarbone, and chest.
Wenzhi’s breath caught. His legs shifted instinctively, but Xinyuan pinned his hips in place without effort.
The Esper lifted his head with those glowing crimson eyes locked onto him.
The red chains still stretched across the side of his face but he had a dimpled smile on his lips with the look of someone completely hypnotized and completely taken.
His nose brushed lightly against Wenzhi’s. "I’ve missed you."
His voice was rough, honest and dangerously soft. "I’ve missed you so much."
His hand tightened slightly against Wenzhi’s side. "I need you to be good for me, okay?"
Wenzhi swallowed harder than he ever had because the look in Xinyuan’s eyes made something in his chest tighten painfully.
Xinyuan leaned forward and captured his lips again.
This kiss was different. It was slower... The kind that made it difficult to remember how to breathe.
Wenzhi found himself melting into it before he even realized it.
The warmth, the familiarity of Xinyuan’s mouth. Everything about it felt overwhelming.
By the time Xinyuan finally pulled away, Wenzhi was dizzy, his freckled face flushing red.
Xinyuan smiled. A smile that looked almost dazed like he couldn’t get enough and he never would.
His attention wandered lower. His lips brushed across Wenzhi’s chest before he paused suddenly when he spotted the phoenix constellation tattoo.
Surprise flashed across his face.
Slowly, he reached out and traced the pattern with his fingertips.
The touch sent goosebumps across Wenzhi’s skin.
"A constellation..." The words came out almost reverently.
Xinyuan lowered his head and pressed a gentle kiss against the tattoo.
The unexpected softness of it made Wenzhi gasp.
When Xinyuan looked back up, curiosity had replaced some of the hunger in his expression.
His fingers continued tracing the design... memorizing it like he intended to remember every line, every star, every mark.
"I...." The edge of his nose grazed Wenzhi’s lips, a slow, intoxicating drag that stole the air right out of the space between them.
"Wenzhi," he breathed, the sound fractured, entirely undone. "I want you. More. Let me have more."
