Don’t Be a Kept Man

Chapter 149: Elemental Ability

Warning: brief recollections of past violence/harassment

There seemed to be an invisible stone weighing a thousand pounds on Pei Ran’s body, so heavy it was forcing him to bend his head and back.
He wasn’t even able to keep that half kneeling posture and collapsed onto the floor, curling up in pain.

He had never experienced such pain, a pain that was like knives scraping skin off his flesh and then slowly, bit by bit, mashing and rolling his brain as if it was dough, so much so that even his senses started to blur.

No…..

He can’t become a zombie……

He can’t become a zombie……

With almost overstrained eyes, Pei Ran began to ruthlessly bite the back of his hand, hard enough to draw blood.
He wanted to push Qu Yan away, make him leave, but he couldn’t spare a single ounce of strength.
Like a fish on land, he was powerlessly flapping for his survival on the shore.

Not long after, he stopped moving.
Silently lying on the floor, it was hard to tell if he was dead or alive.
His clothes that were so neat and clean were now covered in dust, turning them grey.

Qu Yan was originally standing at least three steps away and, seeing this, went forward to check Pei Ran’s condition.
He found that Pei Ran was burning so hot that even his skin was all red, as if he would turn into a zombie the next second.

Separated by the door, faint voices could still be heard from the outside.

Sang Yan, Zhi Zhi, Zhou Cang Ming, the lone woman……

These people, Qu Yan could use his psychic ability to control them.
The only one that was hard to deal with was Feng Tang.
His mental fortitude was much stronger than the rest of the group so Qu Yan could not be 100% sure he could completely control Feng Tang.

But if Pei Ran turned into a zombie, all those people outside, must die.

Humans and zombies cannot coexist.

Pei Ran……

Qu Yan thought, to have a person that he did not detest to continue to exist in this world, even if he turned into a zombie, he must keep him or otherwise the future looked way too boring.

It only cost a few human lives in exchange.

Qu Yan’s fingers lightly slid across the door, leaving a trail behind.
He slowly smiled, as if that finger was a sharp knife, easily able to slit human throats.

Pei Ran was still lying on the floor, not moving and as still as a corpse.
Only the occasional rise and fall of his chest still showed signs that he was alive.

Qu Yan scanned Pei Ran’s face from a distance away and then walked over.
He sat down beside him, but after a moment, as if he was not very satisfied with this position, he laid down, lightly resting on Pei Ran’s shoulder and causing his blue school uniform to turn grey, rolling in the dust.

He was not afraid of death; he did not care about this life of his, and he was not afraid that Pei Ran would suddenly turn into a zombie and bite him.

Qu Yan liked the smell coming off of Pei Ran’s body.

It was very faint, very faint, but it was also very comfortable.

No one had ever hugged Qu Yan before.
His mother was a prostitute and after spending a night with a client, he was conceived.
Because her body wasn’t in the best condition, she was unable to abort him, forcing her to give birth.

Pregnancy can make a woman’s body go off the ideal and without her body in the right shape, she couldn’t get any clients.

That woman called Qu Yan a little bastard; crying, yelling, and hitting him everyday.
She would burn him with her cigarette butts, releasing the twistedness and hatred in her heart against him.
She later died because of an STD in the hospital, leaving behind an amount of money that was not exactly sizable but also not that small.

Qu Yan wanted to go to school.
He wanted to sit in a bright classroom with windows, studying and learning, reading and writing; he did not want to endure violence, endure yelling, did not want to have to pick up the thrown out leftovers from restaurants everyday; did not want to need to sleep on the icy cold floor, shrunk into a ball in the corner every night.

He wanted to study as a studious, earnest student, get into a good university, and then find a good reputable job.
This was all he wanted when he was but a small child.

But then he went to school and he was still the bullied one.

They all knew, Qu Yan was the child of a prostitute, a child of a woman who died because of a sexually transmitted disease.
Even though Qu Yan clearly did nothing, in the eyes of others, he was already dirtied.

When he was in class, someone would stab him in the back with a drawing compass; when he went to refill his water bottle, someone would throw a cockroach inside; when school was let out, he would be locked inside the bathroom and unable to come out all night; when he finished his homework, it would be torn up the next day.

There were times where he thought, he wasn’t like a human.

Was he an animal? Livestock?

Perhaps, as only animals would need to live through these kinds of days.

As Pei Ran was lying on the dirty, disgusting floor, fighting against the virus in the midst of all the flying dust, Qu Yan laid in a warm embrace filled with the faint smell of mint, reminiscing over the icy cold life he had in the past.

They came from different worlds, having different lives; yet fate had begun to change in this moment, and two life lines that had no connections, even though they were separated by mountains and rivers, one branch began to grow endlessly, finally connecting the two by a point.
In this world full of blood lust, in this dirty dirty room.

Pei Ran laid there for a long time, during which Zhou Cang Ming and Zhi Zhi both came to knock on the door.
And just as Qu Yan was about to finish recalling his memories of the past twenty years, Pei Ran’s body temperature finally began to cool down, and he woke up coughing in this dust filled room.

Pei Ran opened his eyes in confusion, his dark pupils flashing a dark blueish purple.
His blood and flesh were still warm, his heart still beating, and as his eyes gained focus, he could clearly see Qu Yan leaning by the door.

He was watching him, yet he was also watching him.

Silence was the only thing that moved through this room.

After a long while, Pei Ran slowly stood up from the ground, a sharp intensity surrounding his body that was unlike the gentle, harmless being he was before.
He rolled his numb right shoulder and then looked at Qu Yan intensely.
After a while, he opened his mouth, sighing, 

“You have saved my life once more.”

That last word had a faint husky, seductive tone to it.

Both of Qu Yan’s hands were at his back, his fingers fiddling with the door hinges.
He was just about to say something when a shadow dropped before his eyes.
He looked up, facing right up to Pei Ran’s clearly defined chin.

Pei Ran stared at Qu Yan’s black inky hair and quietly asked, 

“How long have I been lying there?”

Qu Yan: “Eight hours.”

Pei Ran laughed, 

“That’s quite long.
Did they not suspect anything?”

Qu Yan’s nostrils were filled with a smell that uniquely belonged to Pei Ran and he quietly said back, 

“They did.
Kicked and knocked on the door.”

Most of the time Qu Yan had his head lowered, revealing a pale skinny neck and barely visible pale blue veins.
Pei Ran’s fingers slowly brushed across the back of Qu Yan’s neck, suddenly feeling a quiet rustling in his heart.

He had never seen a person quite like Qu Yan before in his life and it sparked an interest in him.

In the wine red and green lights, there were many of those who were drunk on their dreams to die, with all sorts of faces and each of them brought out different feelings in him.
Now that he was trying to recall, his brain could only conjure up images of fallen wine cups and flipping red dresses.

Pei Ran, this kind of young man with a wealthy background, never talked about real emotions.
As long as there was a slight, slight interest, it could make those of Pei Ran’s type openly chase after the other.
If they could get them, great but if not, there wasn’t much of a loss.

Pei Ran thought, if Qu Yan was a female, how great would that be.
He would definitely be able to get his heart.
But too bad he was a male……

A male……

What about a male……

Hmm?

Why can’t he chase after him if he’s a guy?

At that moment, no one knew what Pei Ran was thinking.
He raised his eyebrows slightly and then smiled brightly, like a shining lightbulb.
He wasn’t in a rush to leave and instead reached out his hands to smooth out the wrinkles and folds from Qu Yan’s uniform.

Pei Ran’s gaze swept across Qu Yan’s dried lips and then settled onto the scarring on his face.
A sense of pity rose in him again but there was no disgust in his emotions, 

“The country won’t maintain the situation as it is forever.
We will head south.
Perhaps there will be a base of survivors.
Besides, my brother’s part of the military.
Go with me.”

He had not left before because he had no ability to; he could not ensure that he wouldn’t die on the journey, but now……

Pei Ran splayed open his lean and long fingers, and following a buzzing sound, a blueish purple ball of electricity slowly appeared in his palms, lighting up the dark dim room by a few degrees.

It was the strongest attacking elemental ability, the electric type.

Seeing this, Qu Yan’s pupils shrunk slightly as if a bit surprised.
Pei Ran receded his electric ball, pressed one hand against the door behind Qu Yan, and asked as he smiled, 

“Ah, how about that? Leave with me?”

With an elemental ability, it didn’t mean he could kill zombies, but Pei Ran naturally did not think so deeply; he only thought that he had strength to back himself up, making him believe he could be the strongest man alive right now.

Covered by his shadow, Qu Yan appeared extremely skinny and weak.
After a bit of contemplation, he lifted his head to look at Pei Ran and lightly asked, 

“Then will you throw me away?”

Pei Ran thought, what would I throw you away for, you’ll be an unbeatable main character in the end, so much better, so much stronger than me.
Between the two of us, who knows who is going to throw away who.
But he couldn’t help himself and frivolously and teasingly pushed Qu Yan’s very skinny chin up, 

“You saved me so many times, why would I throw you away.”

Qu Yan’s response immediately revealed his overly stubborn, controlling, possessive side, filled with paranoia, 

“What if you do throw me away?” 

Pei Ran said, 

“Then you just stab me right to my death.”

Qu Yan finally smiled and lightly shook his head, 

“I won’t kill you……”

Death would only be a release; I will turn you into a zombie, forever living as a walking corpse.
Pei Ran still had not come to his senses and realize that he had engaged with an extremely big problem, one that he would never be able to get rid of.
He patted the dust off his body and then pulled Qu Yan out the door with him.

Following the sound of the door opening, everyone outside immediately looked over at them.
Their eyes were filled with an investigative gaze and for whatever reason, Zhou Cang Ming looked to be filled with rage as he darkly glowered at them.

Pei Ran had an elemental ability now and he was the kind of person who would think that they’re the greatest in the world after getting some sweet shot.
So he was not afraid of Zhou Cang Ming.
He calmly grabbed a set of clean clothing from his luggage bag and was going to shower when out of the corner of his eye he spotted that Qu Yan was also covered in dust and dirt.
He reached over to push him towards the bathroom, 

“Go shower first and change into my clothes.”

A set of clean clothes, so neatly folded inside the bag, was a new experience that Qu Yan had never experienced before.
His eyes darkened for a split second and he subconsciously looked over at Pei Ran but the latter didn’t understand a single thing and closed the bathroom door with a bang.

Seeing Pei Ran hanging around the door, Zhou Cang Ming finally found his chance to speak.
He said mockingly, 

“You must have been quite comfortable yesterday.”

Pei Ran pulled out a box of cigarettes from the provisions he found yesterday and lit one stick up.
The delinquent aura around him was truly a blight on his gentle face, 

“Hmm, it was quite comfortable.”

Zhou Cang Ming suddenly kicked at the already deteriorating wall and loudly screamed out, 

“Did you motherfucking know that Feng Tang sneakily drove off with our car yesterday night?! That flipping bastard! Took my car!”

Pei Ran paused at that, only then discovering that Feng Tang was nowhere to be found.
He took the cigarette out of his mouth, waved it in the air, and said with a very relaxed expression, 

“Ok, related to me how.”

Zhou Cang Ming about to go crazy, 

“He is your bodyguard! You motherfucking say it’s not your problem?! He specifically chose to steal our car when everyone was sleeping last night!”

Although he really shouldn’t, Pei Ran was relishing in Zhou Cang Ming’s misery, 

“You say that as though if he didn’t steal it when you were sleeping, you all would have been able to stop him.”

Even if everyone here banded together, it would not be enough to last for a second in a fight with Feng Tang. 

Whether he stole it in front of their faces or secretly, there was no meaning.

As if he was stabbed right where it hurt, the expression on Zhou Cang Ming twisted and turned, twitching like a madman.
He roughly ripped his glasses off his face and said, 

“Without a car don’t you fucking think that you can get anything!”

Qu Yan waved his hands in the air uncaringly, 

“Ah, it doesn’t matter.
I’ll be heading out after a while.”

Ice cold water was pouring over his body, clumping his hair.
For whatever reason, Qu Yan started to look at the fractured mirror to examine the face in it.

The wound on the right side of his face had already closed up, leaving a dark and uneven scar that would take however long to heal.
His left side looked a bit gloomy but was still clear and fair which created quite a dichotomy on his face.

After a while Qu Yan suddenly lost interest and retracted his gaze.
He put on the clothes Pei Ran gave to him which was evidently a bit big.
He paused and lowered his head to take a sniff.
Even though the scent was clearly the same, Qu Yan thought, it was not as good as the scent coming from Pei Ran’s body.

Zhou Cang Ming, Feng Tang, Sang Yan and that lone woman……

These four people, Qu Yan originally had not planned to let them live until now.

But now……

He pulled the door open and upon seeing how brightly Pei Ran’s face lit up from the joy of watching someone else’s misery compared to Zhou Cang Ming’s expression of misery, his eyebrows imperceptibly rose up, and in a rare moment, he let everything go and stopped thinking, 

Everything is fine.

“You’re out.”

Pei Ran was not a patient man but he did have quite the patience to wait outside.
Seeing Qu Yan come out, Pei Ran first examined him up and down and then smiled, 

“Not bad.
Wear it like this.”

Only then did he go shower.