Chapter Text
The silence in the campus library wasn’t peaceful. It was heavy. Oppressive. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting stark, unforgiving light on rows upon rows of bookshelves that stretched into shadowy recesses. Dust motes danced in the beams like trapped spirits. The air hung thick with the scent of aging paper and lemon-scented cleaner that never quite conquered the underlying mustiness. Xiao Shuai usually found this quietude comforting, a refuge from the constant thrum of the dorm and the lecture halls. Tonight, it felt like the hush before something broke.
He stood wedged in the narrow canyon between the Biology and Physics sections, trying to decipher a particularly dense passage in a borrowed text. His brow furrowed in concentration, the tip of his tongue just visible between his lips. The quiet scrape of a sole on the worn linoleum floor behind him barely registered. Just another late-night student, he thought absently, shifting his weight.
Then the air changed. The space around him compressed. Warmth radiated against his back, too close, accompanied by the faint, clean scent of expensive cologne – entirely out of place here. Xiao Shuai stiffened, the hairs on the back of his neck prickling. He didn’t need to turn around to know. Chi Cheng.
"Lost, Xiao Shuai?" Chi’s voice was a low murmur, almost conversational, but it slithered into the silence like oil. "Or just hiding?"
Xiao Shuai closed the heavy textbook with deliberate slowness, the thump echoing slightly in the narrow aisle. He turned, forcing himself to meet Chi’s eyes. They were dark, sharp, holding an unnerving mix of amusement and calculation. Chi leaned casually against the shelf opposite, arms crossed, effectively boxing him in. His athletic frame, usually relaxed and confident, felt like a wall. He wore a fitted black t-shirt that emphasized broad shoulders, a stark contrast to Xiao Shuai’s own worn hoodie.
"Just studying," Xiao Shuai replied, his voice steady despite the sudden tightness in his chest. He shifted the textbook, gripping its edges. "It is a library."
Chi chuckled, a dry, humorless sound. "Right. Studying." His gaze flickered down to the book in Xiao Shuai’s hands. "Biology. Always the serious one." He pushed off the shelf, taking a half-step forward. The space between them vanished. Xiao Shuai could see the faint stubble along Chi’s jawline, the slight flare of his nostrils. The air crackled with a sudden, uncomfortable intimacy. "Not thinking about Cheng Yu, then?"
The name, spoken in that predatory purr, sent a jolt through Xiao Shuai. He felt his cheeks warm, a traitorous flush he couldn’t control. "What Cheng Yu does isn't my business." The words sounded weak, unconvincing, even to his own ears. He hated how Chi could do that – peel back layers with a look, a word.
Chi’s smile widened, revealing perfectly straight teeth. It wasn't friendly. It was the grin of a cat toying with a cornered mouse. "Isn't it?" He tilted his head, his dark eyes gleaming under the harsh light. "Funny. He talks about you. A lot." Another half-step. Xiao Shuai’s back pressed firmly against the cool metal shelf behind him. The spines of books dug into his shoulder blades. He could feel Chi’s breath, warm against his temple.
Panic fluttered, cold and sharp, in Xiao Shuai’s stomach. He tightened his grip on the textbook, the plastic cover slick under his suddenly damp palms. "He's my friend," he managed, his voice dropping to a whisper, strained. "We all hang out."
"Friend." Chi tasted the word, rolling it around his mouth like a sour candy. His gaze swept over Xiao Shuai, lingering for a fraction too long. Assessing. Possessive. "Cheng Yu sees things... differently. Potential. He likes..." Chi leaned in impossibly closer, his lips almost brushing the shell of Xiao Shuai’s ear. The cologne was overpowering now, mixed with the faint tang of something metallic, like adrenaline. "...uptight."
The insult landed like a physical blow. Xiao Shuai flinched, his grip on the textbook faltering. It slipped, its sharp corner catching his finger before thudding heavily onto his foot and then the floor. The sound was deafening in the profound quiet. He gasped, more from the sting of the words than the pain in his toe.
Chi didn’t move back. He watched Xiao Shuai’s discomfort, the slight tremor in his hands as he bent to retrieve the book, with detached interest. As Xiao Shuai straightened, clutching the heavy volume like a shield, Chi trapped his wrist. Not painfully, but with a firm, inescapable pressure. Chi’s thumb pressed against the delicate bones, holding him there. Xiao Shuai froze, the pulse hammering wildly beneath Chi’s fingers.
Chi leaned in again, his voice dropping to a whisper so low it vibrated in the tiny space between them, curling like poisonous smoke. "He sees potential. I see... opportunity." His dark eyes held Xiao Shuai’s, pinning him as effectively as the grip on his wrist. There was no amusement left, only a chilling intensity. "You think he’ll still want you," Chi breathed, the words hot and intimate against Xiao Shuai’s skin, "after I’m done?"
The question hung in the air. It wasn’t just a threat. It was a promise of ruin. Of being used, discarded, made undesirable. The cold fear that had gripped Xiao Shuai’s stomach flared white-hot, igniting something else entirely. Not just shame. Not just fear. Anger. A fierce, protective surge that burned away the paralysis.
He stopped trying to pull his wrist free. He stopped shrinking back. He stood straighter, meeting Chi’s predatory gaze head-on. The flush on his cheeks wasn’t embarrassment now; it was heat rising from within. His usually calm eyes, the color of dark honey, held a spark Chi hadn’t seen before. Defiance. A quiet, simmering fury.
A slow, dangerous smile touched Xiao Shuai’s lips. It wasn’t pleasant. It was a challenge. He let the heavy physics textbook hang loosely at his side, no longer a shield but a forgotten weight. He didn’t blink, didn’t look away from the calculated darkness in Chi’s stare.
"Guess we’ll see," Xiao Shuai said, his voice low but remarkably clear, cutting through the buzzing silence and the scent of old paper and aggression. It wasn’t a question. It was a gauntlet thrown down. The echo of his words seemed to vibrate off the shelves, hanging in the tense air long after the sound faded.
Chi’s smirk faltered, just for a fraction of a second. Surprise flickered in his eyes, quickly masked by a hardening glare. The easy prey had bared unexpected teeth. The standoff crackled, thick and electric, in the narrow aisle of forgotten knowledge. The moment stretched, taut and fragile.
And Xiao Shuai held it. Not Chi. This moment, this defiance… it was his.
The silence wasn't just broken; it shattered. Chi Cheng’s eyes, dark and calculating, narrowed almost imperceptibly. That spark of defiance in Xiao Shuai’s honey-brown gaze wasn’t fear. It wasn’t submission. It was a challenge Chi hadn't anticipated, a gauntlet thrown onto the dusty linoleum between them. The easy conquest evaporated, replaced by something sharper, more volatile.
A slow, dangerous curve touched Chi’s lips, mirroring Xiao Shuai’s own chilling smile, but devoid of warmth. It was the smile of a predator finding unexpected fight in its prey. Interesting. Annoying. Intensely provocative.
He hadn’t released Xiao Shuai’s wrist. His thumb pressed harder now, a deliberate point of contact against the rapid pulse thrumming beneath the thin skin. Xiao Shuai didn’t flinch. He held Chi’s gaze, the air crackling between them like live wires, thick with the scent of old paper, lemon cleaner, Chi’s aggressive cologne, and something else – raw, adrenalized electricity.
"See?" Chi murmured, the word a low rasp that scraped the silence. He leaned infinitesimally closer, his breath warm against Xiao Shuai’s cheek. "That’s more like it. Maybe there is something worth Cheng Yu’s attention under that quiet act." His free hand lifted, not towards Xiao Shuai’s face, but slowly, deliberately tracing the worn seam of the physics textbook Xiao Shuai still clutched limply at his side. The touch lingered on the rough fabric of Xiao Shuai’s hoodie sleeve, then drifted upwards, feather-light, along the tense line of his forearm. Testing. Provoking.
Xiao Shuai remained statue-still, only his eyes tracking Chi’s movement, the simmering anger banked but far from extinguished. His knuckles were white where he gripped the book. "Get to your point, Chi," he said, his voice low and tight, stripped bare of its usual calm. "Or let me go."
"Oh, I have a point," Chi breathed. His hand stopped its ascent, resting just above Xiao Shuai’s elbow. He shifted his weight, closing the last sliver of space between them entirely. Xiao Shuai’s back pressed firmly into the unforgiving metal shelf frame. There was nowhere to go. Chi’s body was a wall of heat and intent. "My point is…" Chi dipped his head, his lips brushing the sensitive shell of Xiao Shuai’s ear this time, making him involuntarily suck in a sharp breath. "...potential needs exploring. Seeing what breaks. What bends."
He pulled back just enough to look Xiao Shuai full in the face again, his dark eyes boring into the younger man’s, searching for cracks in the defiance. He saw the dilated pupils, the rapid flutter of a pulse in his throat, the stubborn set of his jaw. He saw the fear warring with fury, the confusion warring with that unexpected, burning spark.
Chi knew power plays. He knew leverage. He knew the intoxicating rush of pushing boundaries, of seeing how far someone would bend before they snapped. This – Xiao Shuai’s quiet fury, his refusal to cower – it was intoxicating in a way Chi hadn't felt before. It wasn't just about Cheng Yu anymore. It was about this. The raw, dangerous energy vibrating between them in the silent library aisle.
The buzzing fluorescents hummed louder. The shadows from the towering shelves seemed to lean in. Somewhere far away, a door clicked shut, the sound swallowed instantly by the heavy quiet.
Chi Cheng kissed him.
It wasn't gentle. It wasn't asking. It was sudden, decisive, a claiming. His mouth crushed down on Xiao Shuai’s, a hard, demanding pressure that stole the breath Xiao Shuai had just drawn. Chi’s grip on his wrist tightened like a vise, pinning him against the shelf. His other hand came up, fingers tangling roughly in the hair at the nape of Xiao Shuai’s neck, holding him in place, denying any thought of retreat.
The shock was absolute. A frozen bolt of lightning shot through Xiao Shuai. His body went rigid, the heavy textbook slipping completely from his numb fingers, hitting the floor with another dull thud that echoed strangely distant. He couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. The scent of Chi’s cologne filled his nostrils, overwhelming the library smells. The heat of him was suffocating. The pressure of his lips was insistent, almost painful. It was violation. It was a brand.
For one suspended, terrifying moment, Xiao Shuai was utterly still, trapped.
Chi Cheng’s mouth was hard, punishing against his own. It wasn’t desire; it was domination. A violation mapped onto Xiao Shuai’s lips. The taste was alien – expensive cologne, mint gum, and something acrid underneath, like ozone before a storm. Chi’s fingers were iron bands around his wrist, another tangled painfully in his hair, yanking his head back at an awkward angle. His back ground against the unforgiving metal shelf, the sharp corner digging into his spine.
Panic, cold and slick, surged through Xiao Shuai’s veins, momentarily freezing him. Then came the white-hot flood of rage. It ignited in his chest, a furnace blast that scorched the fear.
He didn’t think. He reacted.
His free hand, trapped awkwardly at his side, shot up. Not to shove. Not to claw. His fingers found Chi’s face, the rough scrape of stubble against his palm. He clamped his hand over Chi’s mouth and nose, shoving upwards with desperate, brute force.
Simultaneously, he bit down.
Hard.
Not a nip. A savage clamp of teeth on the soft inside of Chi’s lower lip. The coppery tang of blood flooded Xiao Shuai’s mouth instantly, thick and metallic.
Chi grunted, a muffled sound of shock and pain vibrating against Xiao Shuai’s palm. The grip on his wrist and hair loosened, just a fraction, startled reflexes overriding control.
It was enough.
Xiao Shuai exploded backwards, wrenching his head free, tearing Chi’s lip further as he ripped his own mouth away. He slammed his trapped arm down against Chi’s weakened hold, breaking it. The sudden movement sent him staggering sideways, his shoulder crashing into the opposite bookshelf. A shower of dust rained down from the upper shelves.
He didn’t stop. He scrambled away, putting precious feet between them, his back hitting the Physics section again, chest heaving. He wiped his mouth frantically with the back of his hand, smearing blood – Chi’s blood – across his skin. His lips felt bruised, swollen, violated. The phantom pressure of Chi’s touch burned on his wrist, his scalp.
Chi stood frozen for a second, one hand automatically rising to touch his mouth. His fingers came away slick and dark in the harsh fluorescent light. He stared at the blood, then slowly, deliberately, lifted his gaze to Xiao Shuai. Surprise warred with fury in his dark eyes, but underneath it, something else flickered – a spark of something dangerously akin to fascination. That spark ignited, burning away the surprise, leaving only the fury and that predatory intensity, sharper now. Hotter.
He didn’t lunge. He took a step forward, slow, deliberate. A hunter circling wounded prey.
"Biting?" Chi’s voice was thick, distorted by the swelling lip. Blood welled from the small, deep tear, tracing a crimson line down his chin. He didn’t wipe it away. He let it flow, a grotesque counterpoint to his handsome features. "That’s new."
Xiao Shuai pressed harder against the shelf, bracing himself. He tasted blood and salt – his own tears now, hot and unwanted, stinging his eyes. His breath hitched, ragged gulps of dusty air. The adrenaline screamed through him, demanding fight or flight. He felt untethered, shaky. But the defiance hadn't vanished. It was still there, brittle and furious beneath the shock and the overwhelming urge to vomit.
"Get the fuck away from me," Xiao Shuai choked out, the words scraping his raw throat. He pushed off the shelf, forcing himself to stand fully upright, to meet that terrifying gaze. His own eyes were wide, wet, but locked onto Chi’s. "Now."
Chi stopped advancing, perhaps a foot away. The space crackled. The hum of the lights seemed deafening. He tilted his head, studying Xiao Shuai like a specimen. The blood on his chin dripped onto the collar of his black t-shirt, spreading in a dark stain.
"Or what?" Chi murmured, the threat velvet-wrapped. "You'll bite me again?" He took another half-step. The scent of his cologne mixed sickeningly with the metallic tang of blood. "Go ahead. See what happens."
Xiao Shuai couldn’t move. Forward was Chi. Backwards was the shelf. His pulse hammered in his temples, a frantic drumbeat against the suffocating silence. He felt the weight of the fallen physics textbook near his foot, a potential weapon. But picking it up felt like admitting defeat, escalating this into something he couldn’t control. He clenched his fists at his sides, nails biting into his palms. The sting was grounding.
Chi watched the fists clench. A slow, predatory smile stretched his bloody lips, an awful parody of amusement. "That's it," he breathed, his voice dropping to a low, intimate rasp that crawled over Xiao Shuai’s skin. "Show me what else Cheng Yu finds so... intriguing."
He reached out, not towards Xiao Shuai’s face this time, but towards his clenched fist.
That touch, the promise of it, snapped something inside Xiao Shuai. The sheer, brazen entitlement, the casual cruelty. He didn’t flinch. He didn’t pull away. Instead, he surged forward, not away.
He ducked low, under Chi’s outstretched arm, using his shoulder to drive hard into Chi’s chest. It wasn’t a graceful tackle; it was pure, panicked momentum fueled by adrenaline and revulsion.
Chi, caught off guard by the sudden aggression from the prey he thought he’d broken, stumbled back a step with a surprised "Oof!" His back slammed into the bookshelf behind him, rattling the volumes.
Xiao Shuai didn't wait. He didn't look back. He spun and bolted down the narrow aisle, his sneakers squeaking on the worn linoleum. He ran blind, past towering shelves blurring into dark walls, the harsh overhead lights strobing in his peripheral vision. His only thought was distance. Escape. The echo of his frantic footsteps chased him through the cavernous silence.
Chi pushed off the shelf instantly, furious energy crackling off him. He took two long strides after the fleeing figure, the sound of running feet echoing like gunshots in the quiet. He could catch him. Easily. The thought sent a dark thrill through him.
But he stopped.
Lunging after Xiao Shuai felt… crude. Expected. Boring, almost. He stood at the mouth of the aisle, breathing hard through his nose, watching the hunched figure in the worn hoodie disappear around a distant corner, towards the library’s main entrance. The metallic taste in his own mouth was sharp, potent.
He touched his torn lip again, wincing slightly at the sting. He looked at the fresh blood on his fingers. Then, slowly, deliberately, he lifted his gaze towards the direction Xiao Shuai had fled.
A slow, chilling smile spread across Chi Cheng’s face, reddened by his own blood. It wasn't anger anymore. It was something colder. Sharper. More dangerous. Possession had morphed into something more complex, more thrilling. He’d tasted fear and fury and defiance, and it hadn't been enough. He wanted to see how deep it ran. How hard he could push before the quiet one truly broke. Or fought back.
He wiped the blood smearing his chin with the back of his hand, leaving a dark streak. The ruined physics textbook lay forgotten on the floor near his feet. He nudged it absently with his shoe.
"See you around, Xiao Shuai," he murmured to the empty aisle, the words carrying clearly in the dead silence. The hum of the fluorescent lights seemed to vibrate in agreement.
--------------------------