Sweat slid down Jiang Luo’s face.
He felt a gaze fixed on him, and the smile at his lips only deepened. Zheng Ning, caught in that smile, turned even redder. His feelings toward Jiang Luo, which had been neutral, began to shift. “Are you really that hot?”
Could this guy stop smiling at him? Was he that into him?
“A little,” Jiang Luo’s brows relaxed. He borrowed a hair tie from Wenren Lian and tied up his hair with swift, fluid motion, revealing a long, pale swan neck. “This is better.”
That gaze on Jiang Luo became even more intense. It followed the trail of sweat sliding from his hairline to his neck like it was something tangible.
His skin was fine and pale, now shadowed slightly under the dusky night. A cool breeze swept through, quickly drying the sweat.
Jiang Luo hadn’t worn the soul-capturing pendant tonight. A single ear stud sat cleanly in his lobe.
The gaze grew bolder.
The black-haired youth, slow to react, finally sensed something off. He frowned and looked in the direction of the stare.
The malicious ghost walked over with graceful steps, wearing a gentle but fake smile. As his eyes met Jiang Luo’s, he didn’t show even a flicker of guilt, as if being caught staring had been his goal all along—to make Jiang Luo notice him.
Jiang Luo’s expression, however, turned impatient. He turned back around and continued chatting and laughing with Zheng Ning until Liu Qi approached with his group.
Liu Qi introduced the two new arrivals. “This is my buddy Wang Shao, and this handsome guy is Wang Shao’s friend, Chi You. We’ll be adding one more person to the race—hope you all don’t mind?”
Of course, everyone shook their heads.
Chi You smiled and reached his hand directly out to Jiang Luo. “Hello.”
Jiang Luo shook his hand calmly, as if they didn’t know each other. “Hello.”
But when Jiang Luo tried to pull his hand back, the malicious ghost gripped it tightly and even gently rubbed Jiang Luo’s palm. Jiang Luo kept in mind the rule: he must act like someone Chi You would never get his hands on. He glanced at Chi You and forcibly pulled his hand free from the ghost’s grip.
No one else noticed the small episode. Zheng Ning, however, had his eyes glued to Chi You. “Never seen this friend of Wang Shao’s before.”
Wang Shao laughed heartily, clearly admiring Chi You. “Don’t underestimate this friend of mine.”
Chi You had many followers across various industries. Jiang Luo figured most of them were either brainwashed by him or had become his puppets. Once Chi You killed the Fated One and broke the curse, a single command from him would make all his followers rise in revolt. And when Chi You targeted someone, no matter what Jiang Luo did or where he went, Chi You could always appear in front of him with perfect justification.
It was like an invisible giant hand gathering its hidden threads. And right now, that hand was trying to gather Jiang Luo in.
Jiang Luo glanced at Wang Shao, thinking: You have no idea, huh? This “friend” of yours has been dead for over six months and turned into a ghost.
Zheng Ning’s cheeks were flushed. Like he’d been bewitched, he looked at Chi You—then hesitated and turned to Jiang Luo again, his eyes darting between the two.
His stares caught Chi You’s attention. Chi You looked at Zheng Ning, raised an eyebrow, and meaningfully asked Jiang Luo, “Is this the male partner you brought?”
Zheng Ning instinctively wanted to deny it, but faltered as soon as he opened his mouth. “I…”
Liu Qi laughed, not caring at all. “Didn’t Brother Jiang come up here alone? Later for the race, just borrow my partner.”
Jiang Luo didn’t refuse. “Sure.”
“Oh?” Chi You suddenly looked like he understood something. The corners of his lips curved up. “Then how about we bet on our partners for this race? Loser gives their partner to the winner.”
After he finished, Chi You smiled at Zheng Ning, casually and charmingly. “How about it?”
Zheng Ning swallowed nervously and forced a relaxed look to respond to the handsome man’s teasing. “Alright, I don’t mind.”
He was torn anyway. If Jiang Luo won, he’d be Jiang Luo’s partner. If Chi You won, then he’d be Chi You’s. Either way, having two top-tier guys racing over him—Zheng Ning figured he couldn’t lose.
Chi You didn’t have a partner either, but Wang Shao gave his female partner to Chi You. The race was about to begin. The riders mounted their bikes, each carrying someone behind them. Jiang Luo got on first, legs straddling the bike, head down as he adjusted his gloves. Once everything was set, he put on his helmet.
Not far from him, Chi You waited. After the referee called out the warning, Chi You saw Jiang Luo bend down, upper body leaning slightly against the bike. Jiang Luo’s back curved into a perfect arc from spine to waist, rising again at the hips—round and full.
Such a simple prep pose, yet to the malicious ghost, it was like being doused in burning oil—suddenly ignited.
It felt like he’d been drugged with something called “Jiang Luo.” Just seeing him was enough to arouse uncontrollable excitement. His soul burned, his body ached with desire. Every cell screamed a mad hunger for the man. Chi You’s nerves were always teetering between forced calm and utter madness. He wanted to devour Jiang Luo—flesh and blood—but knew his obsession would only fuel Jiang Luo’s vanity, turning into a sharp tool to mock him with.
Chi You was a perfectionist with a compulsive aesthetic. Jiang Luo stepped on every nerve he had for beauty. Yet this rose couldn’t be picked so easily—one had to cross thorns to reach it.
If he couldn’t control it completely, then there would always be surprise.
The woman behind Chi You boldly reached out her hand, red-painted nails about to wrap around him—only to be stopped by Chi You lightly blocking her with his bike key.
The malicious ghost took his eyes off Jiang Luo and smiled, “Beautiful lady, you can hold onto the bike yourself, can’t you?”
A chill inexplicably ran down the woman’s spine. She shivered and forced a smile, gripping the metal bar at the back of the motorcycle. “Yes…”
On the mountaintop, as the referee dropped the signal, a dozen bikes roared off. The sound of their engines thundered together like a barrage of cannon fire.
Two bikes broke away from the pack, leaning into turns at extreme angles. The tires screeched against the pavement, and the smell of gasoline threatened to burn away reason.
Jiang Luo and Chi You surged to the front.
Jiang Luo glanced sideways but ignored him. Still, he could feel Chi You inching closer. Their bikes were nearly touching on the mountain road—Zheng Ning and the girl both went pale, screaming.
“Don’t get so close on a mountain road!”
“We’re gonna crash! They’re going to crash!”
At this speed, even the smallest misstep could be fatal. Jiang Luo tried to pull away, but unexpectedly, Chi You placed one foot on Jiang Luo’s foot peg.
It looked casual, but the weight was enough to keep Jiang Luo from steering away. Their side mirrors collided with a loud crack, both snapping off instantly. The metal bodies scraped violently. Jiang Luo’s bike almost skidded out of control. The next curve was right ahead. Zheng Ning and the girl looked like they were about to pass out from fright.
The girl still managed to scream, but Zheng Ning was so weak with fear he couldn’t even make a sound.
For the first time, he clearly understood—
Chi You was a demon.
Did he want them dead?
Chi You wasn’t wearing a helmet. His face was fully visible in the night. Still as stunning, but now—bone-chilling.
Zheng Ning stared at him in horror as he reached out a hand, seemingly about to grab the handlebar of Jiang Luo’s motorcycle.
Terrifying—this man was terrifying. This was clearly attempted murder! He was jolted out of his infatuation with Chi You, tears and snot running down his face.
Even after doing something that could easily kill someone, he still curled his lips in a graceful smile. “It’s time we switched partners.”
What the h*ll did that mean?!
Zheng Ning and the female passenger’s faces went pale. They had heard of partner swapping at dances—but during a motorcycle race?
Switching partners mid-race? One misstep and you’d be crippled for life. Not to mention the upcoming curve—it was completely impossible!
Jiang Luo avoided the hand reaching for him and calmly said to Zheng Ning behind him, “Hold on tight to me.”
Zheng Ning froze, then scrambled to wrap his arms around Jiang Luo. Jiang Luo revved up the speed and suddenly twisted the handlebars, using the momentum to spin around on the mountain road, breaking free of Chi You’s control. The massive friction burdened the tires, screeching against the pavement and filling the air with the stench of burning rubber.
The whole bike felt like it might launch off the road. Zheng Ning’s eyes widened, his vision spinning until he could barely breathe. Just as another speeding bike bore down from behind, Jiang Luo executed another sharp turn and bolted back toward the curve.
Jiang Luo leaned in low again, catching up to Chi You, tailing two bike-lengths behind as they rounded the bend and then overtook him on the straightaway.
This time, he kept a safe distance between the two bikes. Zheng Ning’s heart was pounding in his throat. He held Jiang Luo tightly, sneaking a glance at him.
Jiang Luo was entirely focused, looking for a chance to break through. But when he veered left, Chi You did too. He went right, and Chi You followed. There was no way past.
Strangely, Zheng Ning no longer felt quite as afraid. From Jiang Luo’s expression, he felt a sense of safety. In his peripheral vision, he caught a glimpse of the devilish man beside them—and saw that Chi You wasn’t even watching the road. He was staring directly at Zheng Ning with a blank expression.
“!”
Zheng Ning trembled violently. That one look from Chi You was more terrifying than any murderer he’d ever seen on TV. His entire body turned cold, goosebumps rising all over his skin.
“Ji—Jiang Luo…” Hurry up and go.
But before he could finish speaking, he realized something was wrong. Where was Chi You’s female passenger?!
Zheng Ning’s face turned deathly pale.
He quickly found out where she’d gone.
Because suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind.
“Jump. Jump. Jump…”
“Only by jumping can you survive. Otherwise, you’ll die.”
“Let go. Jump with your hands first.”
Jump hands-first? He’d definitely break his arms!
But the voice was eerie, like a ghost whispering in his ear. Zheng Ning looked around—and under the streetlight, a hanging corpse suddenly appeared, eyes open, grinning at him.
“Ahhhhhh!” Zheng Ning let go of Jiang Luo and screamed, about to leap off the bike—but before he could, Jiang Luo caught his hand and yanked him back.
“Sit still,” Jiang Luo said coolly.
He patted Zheng Ning’s hand reassuringly.
Zheng Ning suddenly felt the voice in his head vanish. The ghostly image disappeared too. His mind went blank, and he instinctively sat back into place.
Jiang Luo had already placed protective talismans on Zheng Ning and the female passenger earlier. Wenren Lian was following behind and would never let innocent people get hurt. After pulling Zheng Ning back, Jiang Luo glanced sideways at Chi You—then suddenly closed in on him. As the next curve approached, he stuck close to Chi You’s side. After they cleared the turn and accelerated, Jiang Luo lashed out and kicked Chi You’s motorcycle.
Chi You’s bike shook violently. The two now raced side by side—Jiang Luo on the right, Chi You on the left. Once he confirmed it was safe, Jiang Luo reached out and grabbed Chi You’s arm.
“Don’t touch my people,” he warned coldly. “Got it?”
Then Jiang Luo’s left hand slid forward—covering Chi You’s right hand.
His long fingers looked like sculpted works of art. Without hesitation, Jiang Luo’s fingers wedged into Chi You’s grip on the throttle—and with a sharp glint in his eye, he suddenly pressed down on Chi You’s brake lever.
Chi You’s bike jolted to a sudden halt. Jiang Luo shot past him in an instant. As he sped ahead, he looked back, touched his lips through his helmet with the hand that had pulled the brake—and blew him a mocking kiss.
“Trash. I’m outta here.”
That kiss was like taunting laughter from a rival, but also a fleeting, teasing breeze.
And in the blink of an eye, Jiang Luo disappeared into the distance.
He crossed the finish line in first place, an entire curve ahead of second. After getting off the bike, he handed Zheng Ning back to Liu Qi, took off his helmet, said a quick word to someone nearby, and headed to the bathroom.
While washing his hands, Jiang Luo looked up—and in the mirror, another figure appeared behind him.
He wasn’t the least bit surprised. The exhilaration of winning, the thrill of besting Chi You—it had all vanished from his face. There wasn’t a single flicker of emotion Chi You could read.
Chi You hated how calm Jiang Luo always looked when facing him.
Jiang Luo acted like he hadn’t seen him at all. He dried his hands with a paper towel and was about to leave—only to find the exit blocked by the malicious ghost.
His cheeks still glowed from the race, lips flushed red, and fine sweat glistened on his nose. His damp face looked as though it had been washed with water, his eyes slightly tilted, brushing over Chi You with casual indifference.
“What do you want?” he asked coldly.
Chi You was silent for a moment, then said slowly, “Jiang Luo.”
He narrowed his eyes, the air around him turning dangerously cold. “Why are you always hot and cold with me?”