Reservoir Dogs chapter 82
It’s Mine
The two walked back to the mountain top and sat on the ground.
Each opened a can of beer, and Xiao Zhou took out a small cake adorned with a strawberry. He looked at the cake and suddenly remembered something, “I forgot to bring candles.”
Jiang Chengyuan took out a cigarette case and a lighter, lit a cigarette, and inserted it into the cake. The scarlet flame brought a puff of smoke, “It’s the same.”
Xiao Zhou frowned, “What kind of candle is that?”
Jiang Chengyuan laughed, “I’m the birthday boy, if I say it’s fine, it’s fine.”
Xiao Zhou was a bit helpless, “Do you want to make a wish then?”
Jiang Chengyuan paused, closed his eyes, then opened them again and took the cigarette out. The base had a bit of cream, and his fingers were also stained. Just as he was about to put it in his mouth, Xiao Zhou reached out and grabbed it, “You can’t smoke here, it’s a fire hazard.” He extinguished the cigarette and threw it into an empty beer can.
“What wish did you make?” he asked.
Jiang Chengyuan didn’t answer, “Isn’t it said that if you speak it out, it won’t come true?”
Xiao Zhou was startled, then nodded, “That’s true.” He then pulled out a wrapped gift from a plastic bag, “This is for you.”
“What is it?” Jiang Chengyuan asked.
“Take a look.”
He unwrapped it, and inside was a bottle of perfume, but very special, a blue round-bellied long-necked bottle, the body was empty without any patterns, “Why perfume?”
Xiao Zhou leaned forward, his chest against his arm, with a bit of the smell of alcohol and the chill of the night. He reached out to cover Jiang Chengyuan’s hand, pressed the top button, and sprayed a little into the air. The scent spread out, very familiar and light, with a hint of the ocean.
“It’s made from pheromones extracted from the gland.” Xiao Zhou explained, “I didn’t know what to give you, you seem to have everything, only this is mine, others can’t give it to you.”
Jiang Chengyuan gripped the perfume, his fingers exerting a bit of force, seemingly thinking for a while before leaning in to kiss his forehead, “Thank you, I really like it.”
Xiao Zhou’s face turned a bit red, perhaps due to the alcohol. He let go, leaned away, and sat back in his original position. He tilted his head up, leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, his back arching into a curve, quietly watching ahead, blending into the dark night.
Neither of them spoke, just sitting there for a while.
A breeze blew, dispersing the previously lingering fog, revealing the moon and stars.
Xiao Zhou said, “Before you came, I was actually thinking, our encounter was a coincidence. You just needed an omega, it could have been someone else. You said I was special before, but actually, it’s not true, it’s just a probabilistic event.”
Jiang Chengyuan’s expression darkened, he placed his hand on Xiao Zhou’s shoulder, “Today was my fault, I didn’t know you remembered, I didn’t know you prepared all this.”
Xiao Zhou tilted his head slightly, a bit of light shone on his face, enough to see his eyes, slightly haggard from drinking and insomnia, “It’s okay, it’s not your fault, I didn’t tell you, you would of course have your own plans.”
He spoke lightly, but Jiang Chengyuan felt a subtle frustration and annoyance in his heart.
He recalled Xiao Zhou holding him on the yacht deck, saying he liked him. He couldn’t help but miss Xiao Zhou’s happy, shy, relaxed look at that time, the drooping, wet eyes, the young and strong body tightly wrapped around him.
Wasn’t that what he wanted? A loyal and honest omega, exclusively his.
He was so eager and stubborn to tame someone, to have them accompany him for a lifetime, to be his devoted lover.
But in the end, he got scared. The more love Xiao Zhou gave, the closer he approached with his heart in his hands, the more Jiang Chengyuan felt flustered and retreated again and again.
Jiang Chengyuan moved closer, his hand on Xiao Zhou’s shoulder unconsciously tightened, pressing and kneading the bones heavily.
Xiao Zhou felt a bit of pain, turned to look at him, and Jiang Chengyuan loosened his grip.
Xiao Zhou moved a bit closer, leaned on his shoulder, lowered his head to play with the silver lighter Jiang Chengyuan had just taken out, stroking the intricate engravings with his finger. He extended his arm, flicked his wrist, and a bluish flame appeared, flickering and bending in the night wind.
He stared at it, a bit fascinated. Even a small light could be so bright.
Jiang Chengyuan also stared at the flame burning in the night, slowly tightening his arm around Xiao Zhou’s waist, “Do you want to know my wish just now?”
Xiao Zhou’s hand holding the lighter stiffened, the shell had gotten hot from burning too long, the heat stung his palm, and he retracted his hand, snapping the lid shut, extinguishing the flame, “Are you willing to tell me?”
“My wish is the same every year.” Jiang Chengyuan gently rubbed Xiao Zhou’s hair, his lips against his temple, “I have two old friends, I want them to rest in peace.”
Xiao Zhou gripped the lighter tightly, the raised pattern pressing into his soft palm, he blinked in the dark night, a bit bewildered, “Who are they?”
Jiang Chengyuan closed his eyes and said, “One was my mentor Wu Yichang, and the other was his daughter. I had previously worked on a case where the defendant, after being released, came to my law firm to thank me. He wanted us to take him in and let him help out, without any pay, just to use his abilities to help others. My mentor agreed and even gave him a salary. At first, everything was fine. Although he was illiterate, he was enthusiastic and hardworking. But later…”
Jiang Chengyuan’s hand tightened, his breathing became rapid, and he started to tremble all over.
Xiao Zhou was startled, turned around, and felt the sticky sweat on Jiang Chengyuan’s skin, his bones seemingly crashing into each other like they were falling apart. Xiao Zhou tried to soothe him by touching his body, but accidentally touched Jiang Chengyuan’s gland, which was swollen and hot. Suddenly, Jiang Chengyuan forcefully pushed him away.
Caught off guard, Xiao Zhou fell backward, his hands landing on the ground to support himself.
Jiang Chengyuan bent over, breathing heavily as he looked at Xiao Zhou, his eyes filled with a spreading redness. His skin was burning hot, showing signs of severe agitation.
He seemed to lose control, behaving like a wild animal, grinding his teeth. Realizing his condition was inappropriate, he looked at Xiao Zhou for a moment, then turned his head away in embarrassment, clenching his fists so tightly that the veins on his hands bulged.
Xiao Zhou looked at him and approached, “So, your problem is related to that person?”
Jiang Chengyuan spread his hand over his eyes, his chin twitching in pain. After a moment, he lowered his hand and said, “I’m sorry, it seems I still can’t…”
Xiao Zhou crawled over, ignoring his resistance, and held his head, pulling him into his embrace, “It’s okay, it’s all in the past.”
Jiang Chengyuan moved his lips, his nose twitching as he greedily inhaled Xiao Zhou’s scent. He then took the initiative, gripping Xiao Zhou’s waist tightly, his lips trailing along Xiao Zhou’s slender neck before suddenly biting down on the back of his neck.
Xiao Zhou’s spine tensed, the familiar pheromone rampaging through his body and veins. He gritted his teeth, suppressing the instinct to retreat, and asked in a faint voice, “So why did you choose me? What’s so special about me?”
Jiang Chengyuan did not speak. He found Xiao Zhou’s glands and the scent of the sea flooded in as his teeth sank in, and fragmented images flashed through his mind.
Sweet and greasy scents, the act of intercourse, the pungent stench of semen.
He drove shards of glass into his own glands, the girl’s desperate scream, shattered sanity.
He jumped from the boat, into the flood of water.
Jiang Chengyuan slowly closed his eyes, feeling the relief yet lethal sensation of being enveloped by the seawater.
Xiao Zhou felt a hot liquid touch the skin on the back of his neck. His heart ached, wanting to turn around, but the grip on him was too tight, suffocating, threatening to crush his bones and reshape his soul. Their chests pressed together, and under the restraint of Jiang Chengyuan’s hands, Xiao Zhou’s heart pounded.
He was pressed to the ground, the hot and heavy body clinging from behind. His arms were raised and held together, his thighs spread apart, the rough, gritty soil beneath him. When he looked up, he could see the starry, moonlit night sky.
With his head thrown back in unbearable pain and fatigue, Xiao Zhou had to lower his face, rubbing his cheek against the ground, which was scraped by sharp stones, bleeding slightly, mixing with the dirt.
It was Jiang Chengyuan… Xiao Zhou gritted his teeth, controlling his instinctive urge to struggle, repeatedly whispering Jiang Chengyuan’s name like a mantra. He loved him, loved him so much that he could be his omega, could be humiliated in broad daylight like garbage, could tolerate his unfaithfulness and arrogance.
Even if this love wasn’t reciprocal, even if it was unresponsive, it felt more like a sacrifice for the kindness Jiang Chengyuan had once unintentionally bestowed on him.