Chà Chà Novel

“If you’re willing to do anything… then come over here and kiss me.”

Yu Yan stared intently at Gu Xichao’s flawless face. At last, a crack appeared in that composed facade, revealing the turmoil beneath—humiliation, hatred, fear, and fury.

“Yu Yan, don’t push me too far!”

Gu Xichao gritted his teeth, fighting with everything he had to suppress the emotions surging inside him.

He took several deep breaths and barely managed to regain his composure. He had no idea what Yu Yan might be capable of. Murdering him and disposing of the body? Forcing himself on him before killing him?

Although Gu Xichao did not truly believe Yu Yan was that kind of person, he could not bring himself to gamble with his own life. For now, his safest option was to calm Yu Yan down, then slowly look for a chance to escape.

Gu Xichao forced a smile.

“Is it money you want? No, that can’t be it. A superstar like you certainly isn’t short of money. Did you bring me here just to toy with me? The truth is, I’m not someone who still clings to the past…”

Yu Yan watched him darkly. Seeing Gu Xichao suddenly become so guarded and distant made him want to tease him even more.

“You’re standing too far away. I can’t hear you. Come closer.”

The two remained locked in a silent standoff for a moment.

Clearly unwilling, Gu Xichao slowly edged forward, one reluctant step at a time. It took him nearly half a minute to reach a distance Yu Yan found acceptable.

Only half an arm’s length remained between them. Either one could touch the other simply by reaching out.

Gu Xichao’s mind raced, calculating how best to placate the dangerous man before him and seize an opportunity to escape.

Just then, warmth suddenly brushed against his forehead.

Yu Yan gently held his shoulders and lowered his head.

A soft, warm kiss landed on his forehead.

Gu Xichao’s entire body went rigid.

The touch was impossibly tender, as light as a feather drifting down upon him, leaving him momentarily too stunned to react.

But in the next instant, his body responded on instinct. He shoved Yu Yan away with all his strength.

Caught off guard, Yu Yan stumbled backward. His back slammed into the edge of the dining table, knocking over the vase. The wine bottle, already more than half empty, rocked unsteadily beside it.

He braced a hand against the table to steady himself, his eyes weighed down by emotions too deep to name.

“Do you really despise me that much?”

Gu Xichao instinctively averted his gaze, his eyes coming to rest on the open bottle of wine beside the table.

“I thought I had already made myself perfectly clear.”

The faintest trace of a smile remained on his lips.

“I don’t hate you.”

His voice was utterly serious.

“But does that mean I have to love you?”

Gu Xichao’s fingers slowly curled into fists. His entire body was wound tight, yet his breathing remained frighteningly steady. Every muscle was drawn taut like a bowstring stretched to its limit.

He would only have one chance.

And in the very next second…

Gu Xichao struck without warning.

He seized the wine bottle from the table and swung it at Yu Yan without the slightest hesitation.

At the critical moment, Yu Yan reacted with incredible speed, jerking his head aside and narrowly avoiding the blow.

The bottle swept past his ear and smashed violently against the edge of the wine cabinet behind him.

Crash!

The piercing sound of shattering glass tore through the air.

Red wine and shards of glass sprayed in every direction.

A thin cut appeared across the back of Gu Xichao’s hand, bright red blood quickly welling from the wound. Yu Yan had not escaped completely unscathed either. A shard of glass grazed his forehead, leaving behind a long, narrow gash.

Wine streamed down the cabinet and spilled across the floor, mingling with fresh blood in a sight so vivid it hurt to behold.

Blood slowly seeped from the wound on Yu Yan’s forehead.

The hot trail ran along his brow, passed the corner of his eye, and stained his vision red. It continued down the sharp line of his jaw before finally soaking into his collar.

In disbelief, Yu Yan raised a hand to touch the burning wound. He then lowered his gaze to the blood staining his fingertips.

In that fleeting moment, he had seen the murderous intent in Gu Xichao’s eyes with perfect clarity.

Yu Yan could not stop the trembling that spread through his entire body.

Had Gu Xichao truly wanted to kill him?

The man who had appeared in his dreams night after night, the man who had once fed him countless pieces of sweet candy… now wanted him dead?

“Let me go!”

Gu Xichao gripped the jagged neck of the broken bottle with both hands, holding the razor-sharp edge outward as he raised it defensively before his chest.

He had originally intended to knock Yu Yan unconscious, then climb through the shattered floor-to-ceiling window and escape into the garden. Perhaps there was still a path to freedom somewhere beyond it.

But now, all he could do was cling to the last weapon in his hands and fight desperately for his life.

Yu Yan smiled, but the expression looked even more anguished than tears.

“You’re so cruel.”

“Why do you treat me this way? It seems I’m the only person you can ever bring yourself to be this cruel to.”

“You forced me! I had no choice but to protect myself!”

Looking at Yu Yan’s blood-covered face, Gu Xichao explained uneasily:

“I don’t believe I’ve ever owed you anything. As for everything you owed me, consider the debt fully repaid today. I don’t hate you anymore. I forgive you! Neither of us owes the other anything now, so from this day forward, stop entangling yourself with me!”

“You forgive me?”

A hoarse, anguished laugh escaped Yu Yan. With his face covered in blood, he looked terrifying as he staggered toward Gu Xichao.

“What right do you have to forgive me?!”

The resentment in Yu Yan’s eyes pierced Gu Xichao like a needle, stirring up all the grievances, love, and hatred he had kept suppressed for far too long.

Ever since returning to the country and meeting Yu Yan again, Gu Xichao had fought to maintain his composure and dignity, determined to protect the peace he had painstakingly rebuilt within himself. He refused to repeat the same mistakes, much less become a slave to his own emotions again.

To him, revenge would only force him to relive the painful memories of the past over and over. He had long since convinced himself that it was all behind him—that none of it mattered anymore.

Only by truly letting go could a person escape the prison known as the past.

With both hands trembling uncontrollably, Gu Xichao raised the broken bottle and pointed it straight at the man before him. The wound on his hand was still bleeding.

Drop by drop, their blood fell to the floor.

“Yu Yan, open the door. Let me leave.”

Yu Yan gave him a desolate smile. He raised a hand and pointed to his own neck, coaxing him in a slow, quiet voice:

“Gu Xichao, you can cut me right here. This spot is vulnerable. You only need to use half your strength…”

When Yu Yan lunged toward him, Gu Xichao had never expected himself to hesitate.

In that single instant, Yu Yan snatched the broken bottle from his hands, swung it around, and smashed it violently against the floor.

Another deafening crash rang out.

Gu Xichao stared in horror at the shattered bottleneck on the ground and stumbled two steps backward. All strength suddenly drained from his body, leaving him no choice but to lean against the wall behind him to remain standing.

A thought drifted through his dazed mind.

Was it that brief moment of hesitation that had trapped him here?

Or had he never truly escaped that prison in the first place?

Then had he… really walked out of the flames two years ago?

Could he truly hear the name “Gu Xichao” and calmly pretend it meant nothing to him?

Gu Xichao closed his eyes in pain, a bitter smile forming somewhere deep within him.

If he had known things would turn out this way, he would never have returned.

His exhausted body sagged against the wall. The extreme tension and relentless surge of adrenaline had pushed him beyond his limits.

He was simply too tired.

Just before he could slide completely to the floor, an arm suddenly wrapped around his waist. Familiar warmth carrying a faint, familiar scent drew close against him.

Yu Yan struggled to hold him upright, lowering his head onto Gu Xichao’s shoulder. Fresh blood soaked a small patch of fabric beneath his forehead.

“You never truly wanted to hurt me, did you? I bet that you would stay, and I won. Then I bet that you wouldn’t kill me—and I won again!”

Blood was still flowing from Yu Yan’s forehead, yet a pale smile appeared on his face, so desolate it was almost unbearable to look at.

“You’re overthinking it. You might want to go to prison, but I don’t.”

Gu Xichao pressed a hand to his forehead and answered wearily.

Yu Yan’s quiet laughter sounded beside his ear. Gu Xichao thought he had gone mad—but not because Gu Xichao had driven him to it.

All that madness had come from within Yu Yan himself.

Yu Yan laughed and cried at the same time, his voice trembling.

“If I won… then why does it still hurt so much?”

A sheen of moisture suddenly veiled his eyes. He did not know when the tears had begun to fall. They mingled with the blood and wine, slowly sliding past the corners of his lips until all his tongue could taste was the thick metallic tang of blood.

At that moment, even Yu Yan himself felt utterly lost.

Throughout the two years Gu Xichao had been gone, he had never shed a single tear.

Yet now that this man was here, held tightly within his arms, why could he not stop the burning in his eyes?

Why could he do nothing but let the blood and tears fall together?

He did not understand.