34

Smack!

Someone smacked Ethan's hand.

Ethan was so surprised by it that he hissed out loud. He rubbed his palm, which became red in a matter of seconds.

Xie looked behind him and was surprised to see Isaac. His handsome face was sullen, and his eyes narrowed sharply.

Isaac stared at Ethan with a deathly eye.

His scarlet irises turned several shades darker and perfectly conveyed his murderous aura to his enemy. If they were alone, there was no doubt that Isaac would attempt to murder Ethan.

Xie gulped down his saliva. Uhh...isn't this dangerous? He should probably stop him before he did something to Ethan.

"Mr. Isaac?" He cautiously called his name. He was hesitating whether he should tug the man's sleeve or not. If Isaac suddenly snapped, wouldn't he get the splatter of his anger?

Isaac's body visibly relaxed.

Once Isaac heard Xie's voice, his lips involuntarily curved into a joyous smile. The chilling gaze on his face receded to an expression full of warmth.

"Good morning, Xie. How's your night?" His tone was soft and gentle. It was as if he was talking with his sweetheart.

Xie was perplexed. He stared at Isaac and quietly pondered.

This man's mood swing was much worse than a pregnant lady's.

One moment he was angry enough to plot someone's murder in his head. Another moment, he was smiling, and his smile filled with joy and was much brighter than the sun.

"I...I slept well. Thank you for asking. How about you?" Xie awkwardly smiled back at him.

Isaac dragged a chair from another table and shamelessly put it between Xie's chair and Ethan's. He was inviting himself to sit with them.

Xie wanted to ask them. Were they treating him like a statue? Shouldn't they ask for his permission first before settling themselves at his table? Was his opinion didn't matter to them? Regardless of whether he agrees or not agree, they wouldn't care about his thought?

"I have a nice sleep." Isaac turned to face Xie and deliberately gave his back view to Ethan, trying to hide Xie's face from being seen by him. "It was thanks to you."

"Me...me?" Xie was flustered when he heard that sentence. What did he mean by that?

"Yes." Isaac gave him a meaningful look. "I even had a pleasant dream. It's all thanks to you, Xie."

Xie felt the way Isaac phrased his sentence was a bit weird. He implicitly hinted at something, but Xie was too slow to pick up the hint.

"Oh, it's good for you to sleep well at night." He never wanted to think further, so he gave him a perfunctory response.

"Are you alone? Where's Alaric?" Since Isaac didn't see the servant everywhere, he found it strange. These two were inseparable. Where the other one goes, another one would loyally trail behind him, just like a chick followed behind its mother hen. Isaac suddenly leaned in and gestured his chin toward Ethan. "And...who is that thing?"

Thing? What thing? When he finally understood the implication behind Isaac's words, he helplessly touched his forehead.

Isn't it impolite to point at someone and call them 'that thing'?

"That's Ethan. He..." Xie frowned. How should he introduce him? "A friend."

"Oh." Isaac didn't bother to hide his dislike toward Ethan. "I thought a pervert had come to bother you." His lips pursed out. "A friend, huh?"

Ethan maintaining his smile, greeted Isaac half-heartedly. The smile, though, never reached his eyes.

"Hello. I am Ethan." He held out his hand, offering a handshake. "It's nice to meet you."

Isaac looked at the outstretched hand and slowly took the handshake.

"Isaac." He reluctantly introduced himself. "It's nice to meet you...too."

"..."

"..."

The grip suddenly tightened, and both flinched.

They get flustered when both finally taste their own powerful grips against each other. The cyan veins bulged out, and the blood vessels on their hands looked strained. Their backs seemed stiff, and the slouched waists immediately straightened up.

Xie blankly looked at these two childish men. Should he stop them?

"What...your...relationship...with...Xiya?" Ethan's lips twitched. He enunciated each word while gnashing his teeth as pressure gradually applied to the handshake. His body was shaking.

Damn. This man was quite strong. His hand...it's hurt.

Isaac let out a humorless laugh. No one could ever guess Isaac's internal struggle because he adopted an unchanging, frosty face the entire time.

Had it not because of the bead of sweats adorning his smooth forehead, he might even fool the spectator beside him.

Neither Isaac nor Ethan is willing to back down. Both staked up everything on their so-called man's pride and dignity.

Xie looked over at Ethan and then at Isaac. He scratched his head and pondered in silence.

"..." He put a slice of delicious pancake directly into his mouth. "Oh!"

Ting! A light bulb appeared inside his mind and flickered brightly.

Rather than staying here, enduring their childish behavior, shouldn't he leave?

It looked like they both had engaged in a more heated staring contest.

He shouldn't bother them and let them have a share of their fun together.

After a while, Xie finally concluded that he better leave them alone. There was no need to trouble himself with their problem.

So, discreetly, he walked away from both.

It was such a funny scene since Xie practically sat beside them with their eyes sometimes focused on him, and sometimes they were not. But they should be aware of his movement.

However, due to their stubbornness and unyielding spirit of maintaining the heated stares, Xie successfully slipped away without hassle.

Xie looked behind him after putting a considerable distance. He once again helplessly shook his head.

You guys, have fun.

***

Mini Theater.

Both endured a great deal of pain, and their hands went numb.

Issac: Let's compromise.

Ethan: About what?

Isaac: You let go of my hand, and I will do the same to your hand.

Ethan: Alright. After I counted to three, we will simultaneously let go of each other hands.

Isaac: Deal!

Ethan: One.

Isaac: Two.

Isaac&Ethan: Three!

Contrary to their expectation, both were cunning and never had the thought of being the first person to back down from this confrontation.

The grip didn't loosen. Instead, it tightened, and the men's faces underwent a colorful change, going from red to blue and blue to pale white.

Why white?

It was because they heard the faint crack of breaking bones.

Ethan: ...shit. (His hand shook terribly, and intense pain erupted from the broken part to all over his body)

Isaac: ... (He wanted to cough a mouthful of blood. The pain was unbearable, but what he couldn't stand more was the embarrassment he felt later) Remind me again, why did we compare the strength of our hands in the first place?

Ethan: ...I don't know...