Chapter 24
Xing Xu stared at the [Demon Observation Log] in front of him, frowning for a long time without relaxing. This was a report meant to be sent back to the Security Bureau to analyze the demon’s weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Initially, he had written quite smoothly, his pen flying across the page:
[Physique]: The demon’s body temperature is too high, skin overly pale, eye color is very unusual, lips are extremely soft (crossed out the last part).
[Danger Level]: The demon hides very well, with no apparent aggressive intent.
Note: Biting hurts.
[Warning]: The demon will stop at nothing to seduce humans!
Note: Hah, a pathetic trick, not worth mentioning.
In the [Habits] section, he had only filled in ‘afraid of the cold,’ with further observations still pending.
Xing Xu was stuck on the section for [How they gain power].
If he had been suspicious before, last night’s events had confirmed it—demons gained power through human bodily fluids. Blood and saliva could satisfy Ye Xiyao’s ‘hunger.’
But…
How was he supposed to write that in a professional way?
And if the Security Bureau asked him how he came to that conclusion, what would he say?
Was he supposed to write in the notes, “I’m sure of it because I made out with the demon until I was dizzy last night”?
Damn it.
In the end, Xing Xu simply threw down his pen and walked heavily into the bathroom to take his fifth cold shower of the day.
—
The next day, Ye Xiyao wore two layers of clothing.
One was a close-fitting long-sleeve shirt, and over that, a thin sun-protection jacket zipped all the way up.
It was over 30 degrees Celsius, and while everyone else on the street was trying to wear as little as possible, he had bundled himself up tightly.
They had agreed to meet at a highly-rated restaurant that was always fully booked. Ye Xiyao couldn’t secure a reservation, so the customer service advised him to queue up in person on the day.
To avoid making Xing Xu wait, Ye Xiyao arrived half an hour early to get in line, just in case there were a lot of people.
To his surprise, when he arrived, Xing Xu was already there, picking up a queue number.
The two stood facing each other awkwardly.
Xing Xu asked, “Why are you here so early?”
Ye Xiyao countered, “Why are ‘you’ here so early?”
Xing Xu turned his face away, expressionless, and stubbornly said, “I had business nearby and happened to be driving by, so—”
But Ye Xiyao cut him off with a simple explanation: “I didn’t want to keep you waiting.”
“…Oh.” Xing Xu was baffled by those words, and before he knew it, he blurted out, “Same here.”
Ye Xiyao smiled and squeezed in next to him, lining up together. “This place is ranked number one in Lucheng City’s top food spots.”
Xing Xu nodded.
What he didn’t tell Ye Xiyao was that after receiving the address yesterday, he had looked up this restaurant.
The reviews were indeed great, the environment seemed fine, and it had been featured on a food show last year, gaining popularity afterward. He had even gone through online reviews of each dish, memorizing both the good and bad comments.
Xing Xu had never gone out to a restaurant one-on-one with anyone before, so this whole thing was unfamiliar to him. To avoid any mistakes, he had done a lot of homework in advance.
Not only did he research the restaurant, but he also checked the surrounding area—where crowds gathered, where it was quieter, where the parks and footbridges were, how to get to the mall, and even marked the landmarks with precise coordinates in his mind.
The meal went very smoothly.
At least from Ye Xiyao’s perspective, with delicious food and Xing Xu by his side, everything seemed perfect.
At one point, Xing Xu commented on a dish, saying, “It’s just average.”
But Ye Xiyao thought it tasted pretty good and asked, “You don’t like this dish?”
Xing Xu didn’t plan to explain further, but seeing Ye Xiyao’s genuine curiosity, he couldn’t help but say, “I can make it better than this.”
Ye Xiyao was extremely surprised.
He had no idea that Xing Xu could cook, let alone had ever tasted his food. Just hearing Xing Xu say it was shocking enough.
Xing Xu asked him, “You don’t believe me?”
Ye Xiyao replied, “I believe you… I guess.”
Xing Xu frowned, “Either you believe it or you don’t, where does ‘I guess’ come from?”
Ye Xiyao grinned, “I’ll believe it when I taste it.”
“Can your brain think any faster?” Xing Xu lightly tapped Ye Xiyao on the forehead with the back of a spoon.
Ye Xiyao chuckled, “Go ahead, make it.”
Xing Xu: “Not happening.”
Ye Xiyao: “Then I guess the food here is better, the best I’ve ever had. If you’re not willing to cook, I bet it’s just average.”
As he spoke, he took another big bite on purpose.
“…?” Xing Xu noticed that the more familiar Ye Xiyao became, the more lively he got—lively enough to make him grind his teeth. “Fine, fine, I’ll cook for you.”
“Yay!” Ye Xiyao raised two fingers in victory.
Xing Xu, both amused and annoyed, pulled the remaining half of the dish away, not letting him eat anymore.
—
After their meal, both of them instinctively headed toward the nearby mall.
At the entrance, they simultaneously pulled out their phones.
Xing Xu was a step too slow, and Ye Xiyao beat him to it.
“I bought movie tickets! Let’s go watch a movie!” Ye Xiyao showed him his phone screen. “How about this one? A sci-fi movie—’Intergalactic Wars’, aliens fighting aliens, heads exploding everywhere.”
Xing Xu silently turned off his phone, locking away the two couple-seat tickets for a cheesy romantic drama he had almost took out, and said, “Sure, let’s watch that.”
After the movie, which took them into the early evening, they wandered around a nearby park. They bought two cotton candies, two balloons, and even spent some time playing with an enthusiastic Samoyed dog.
Ye Xiyao seemed to really like animals. He scratched the Samoyed’s chin, making its tail wag excitedly.
After parting with the dog, Ye Xiyao suddenly reached up and scratched his own chin.
Xing Xu nearly twisted his ankle. “Can you do something that makes sense?”
Ye Xiyao laughed, “I’m just curious why dogs love having their chins scratched, but when I do it, I feel nothing.”
“You’re not a dog,” Xing Xu really wanted to crack open Ye Xiyao’s head to see what was going on inside.
The next moment, Ye Xiyao unexpectedly reached over and scratched Xing Xu’s chin. “Does it feel good for you?”
Xing Xu: “?”
Ye Xiyao reacted even faster than him, instantly pulling his hand back, his expression a bit awkward.
Xing Xu placed his hand over the spot Ye Xiyao had just touched and said coolly, “I’m not a dog either.”
But Ye Xiyao didn’t respond.
From that moment on, Ye Xiyao started acting strange. As they walked along the pedestrian street for the next ten minutes, he didn’t say a word.
Xing Xu thought his cold response had embarrassed Ye Xiyao, so he tried to start up a conversation. But Ye Xiyao’s replies were either “Mm-hmm” or “Oh.”
Nothing more.
When they reached the parking lot, Xing Xu told him to wait while he went to get the car. Ye Xiyao nodded and sat on a nearby bench.
As soon as Xing Xu left, Ye Xiyao dropped his pretense and bent over, hugging himself.
Pain…
It hurt so much.
The demonic markings had suddenly begun to flare up. But why now?!
Ye Xiyao didn’t suspect Xing Xu at all. Gasping in pain, he assumed it must be a side effect of using his powers earlier.
The worst pain came from his lower abdomen, where the demonic marks had originally started. As they spread, the closer they got to the tail end of the markings, the less it hurt, but the itchiness became unbearable—especially around his chest, where it felt like countless ants were crawling through his blood.
Ye Xiyao desperately wanted to scratch, but with people walking around, he felt too embarrassed.
All he could do was hunch over, enduring both the pain and the itch, his consciousness beginning to blur.
When Xing Xu drove up to the roadside and saw Ye Xiyao in that condition, he immediately rushed over, intending to carry him into the car. However, Ye Xiyao refused.
“You’ve got to be kidding. It already hurts when I touch it myself. If Xing Xu touches me, I’ll probably pass out from the pain.”
Ye Xiyao forced a weak smile and said, “Let’s go home. I’ll be fine after some rest.”
Xing Xu stared at him for a moment but didn’t argue.
Once they were in the car and the doors were locked, Ye Xiyao realized that Xing Xu wasn’t driving towards his home.
“Xing Xu…” Ye Xiyao made a reasonable guess. “Are we going to the hospital?”
Xing Xu: “Yes.
Ye Xiyao immediately panicked.
That can’t happen!
If a doctor, or worse, Xing Xu, saw what was on his body, all the years he had spent hiding his secret would be for nothing.
“I’m not going,” Ye Xiyao tugged at the seatbelt, frantically trying to stop him. “I’m fine, I don’t need to go to the hospital.”
Xing Xu ignored him and kept driving toward the hospital. “You don’t look well. Just listen to me.”
“No, no, no.” Ye Xiyao wanted to grab Xing Xu’s hand, but he stopped himself, deciding to try persuasion instead. In a soft voice, he pleaded, “Brother, I really don’t want to go to the hospital…”
“Hmm?” Xing Xu abruptly glanced at him before stiffly turning his head back.
Ye Xiyao’s ears turned red. “Is it weird for me to call you that?”
He had seen that Qiao Linchuan and the others liked being called “brother,” assuming all men enjoyed being addressed that way—it gave them a sense of respect and importance.
But Xing Xu’s expression didn’t seem to show much liking for it.
Ye Xiyao quickly corrected himself. “I won’t call you that anymore.”
“Did I say anything?” Xing Xu acted as if he didn’t care about the title, adding, “Call me whatever you want.”
Ye Xiyao blinked, testing out, “Brother?”
Xing Xu nodded calmly, “Hmm.”
Ye Xiyao tried again, “Can we not go to the hospital, brother?”
Xing Xu: “Hmm.”
Ye Xiyao: “So where are we going now, brother?”
Xing Xu: “Hmm.”
Ye Xiyao: “?”
“Ahem.” Xing Xu suddenly coughed, realizing what he was doing. Then he asked, “Why don’t you want to go to the hospital? Give me a reason.”
Ye Xiyao pressed his lips together.
He couldn’t really explain it.
Even he hadn’t figured out why the demonic markings became so agitated when he was near Xing Xu.
Unable to give an explanation, he decided not to try. But going to the hospital was out of the question. After a lot of fumbling, Ye Xiyao blurted out, “I’m scared of hospitals. I don’t want to go.”
“Are you a child? Just because you’re scared, you won’t go? You’re in this much pain, and you’re still being stubborn.” Xing Xu clearly didn’t buy the excuse.
“No.” Ye Xiyao suddenly hardened his stance. “I just won’t go.”
Xing Xu’s temper flared too. “Fine. If you won’t go to the hospital, I won’t take you home either. Let’s see how long you can hold out.”
True to his word, Xing Xu pulled the car over into a secluded parking spot. There were no streetlights, no pedestrians—just the two of them on a deserted street.
Ye Xiyao wouldn’t even know where to run if he tried.
Not to mention, he couldn’t even open the car door.
Ye Xiyao immediately wilted.
This stand-off wasn’t going to work.
He knew that the pain from the demonic markings wouldn’t subside quickly. Yesterday, it had taken half an hour to ease after Xing Xu left. Today, it could take even longer.
After thinking it over, Ye Xiyao couldn’t come up with a solution.
Finally, he reached out, tugging at Xing Xu’s clothes and said, “Brother, don’t be like this.”
Xing Xu glanced at him from the corner of his eye but said nothing.
Ye Xiyao added, “Going to the hospital is too much trouble. I’ll be fine if I just rub it out myself.”
“How are you supposed to rub it?” Xing Xu asked abruptly, without context.
Ye Xiyao demonstrated by lightly rubbing his stomach, making up a random explanation: “I think it feels much better than before.”
“Alright.” Xing Xu suddenly reached over and scooped him up. “I’ll help you.”
His car was large, with plenty of space in the cabin. He pulled Ye Xiyao over from the passenger seat onto his lap with ease and even had the room to reach up and turn on the light.
“No, no, no!”
Ye Xiyao was startled by his actions, his first thought being: This is bad!
He struggled with all his might to break free, but Xing Xu’s strength was overwhelming. It took him no effort to pull Ye Xiyao onto his lap. Now, with the steering wheel in front and Xing Xu behind, there was nowhere for him to escape.
Ye Xiyao gritted his teeth, bracing for the excruciating pain he expected from the demonic markings.
But after waiting a while, there was no sensation at all.
No pain, no itching—he even felt… comfortable?
What was going on?
Xing Xu held him in his arms, his large, warm hand carefully pressing on the spot where Ye Xiyao had complained of pain. “Here?”
In that moment, a wave of electrifying sensation exploded beneath Ye Xiyao’s skin, spreading through his entire body.
Ye Xiyao instantly quieted down, no longer struggling. He obediently nestled into Xing Xu’s embrace, waiting for him to rub his stomach.
He had expected something terrible to happen when someone touched the demonic markings, but the reality was the complete opposite.
The pain from earlier had entirely vanished. As Xing Xu gently massaged him, Ye Xiyao felt his whole body relax, melting into Xing Xu’s shoulder, his toes tingling from the comfort, his body trembling slightly.
Xing Xu adjusted the seat backward, giving Ye Xiyao more room to relax. One arm circled around his shoulders, while the other, though inexperienced, gently massaged his lower abdomen through the thin layer of fabric. “Anywhere else that hurts?”
Ye Xiyao could no longer bring himself to say no. He panted lightly, leaning close to Xing Xu’s ear and whispering something.
Xing Xu froze, thinking he must have misheard.
Then, Ye Xiyao grabbed Xing Xu’s hand, slowly moving it upward, finally resting it on the spot where the demonic markings had tormented him for so long. “Here too, please rub it.”
“I need to ask something first.” Xing Xu’s hand hovered over the spot, his voice a bit hoarse. “Will you remember this tomorrow when you wake up?”
“Why wouldn’t I remember?” Ye Xiyao was confused by the question. “I have a great memory.”
“That’s what you said.” With a touch of retribution, Xing Xu pressed down, “Even if you forget, I have ways to make you remember.”
“Ah…!” Ye Xiyao let out a startled gasp, his voice rising sharply.
Hearing that sound, Xing Xu’s throat tightened, and he asked with restraint, “What? Did I press too hard?”
“No.” Ye Xiyao was shocked by how good it felt. His body instinctively recoiled, but Xing Xu pulled him back into place. “I’m fine, brother Xing, you can let me sit back now. I feel completely fine.”
“I’ve only been rubbing for two minutes, and you’re already better.” Xing Xu held him firmly, his fingers tracing circles around the area. “Trying to trick me again?”
Ye Xiyao trembled, unable to speak. “No… no…”
“You’ll say anything just to avoid the hospital.” Xing Xu had found a rhythm. His calloused hands wandered over Ye Xiyao’s body, leaving teasing sensations wherever they touched. “How disobedient.”
“Mm… mm…” Ye Xiyao curled up, his legs kicking out uncontrollably.
Xing Xu wanted to keep teasing him but was afraid of pushing too far. When Ye Xiyao finally closed his eyes, drowsy and exhausted, he sighed and pulled back. He gently returned Ye Xiyao to the passenger seat.
Seeing Ye Xiyao curl into a ball, Xing Xu assumed he was just feeling shy.
What Xing Xu didn’t know was that Ye Xiyao was feeling ashamed.
Ashamed of his uncontrollable succubus-like nature.
Xing Xu thought he was simply helping, massaging him out of genuine care—how kind, thoughtful, and considerate.
But while Xing Xu was doing something innocent, Ye Xiyao had nearly experienced a far less innocent kind of pleasure under his touch.
He felt truly wicked.
