28

In the middle of the barren toilet, two men exchanged a not-so-obvious glance, and one of them averted his gaze before the other caught onto his staring.

Both were in an awkward position.

Xie leaned on the sink, and his head hung lower and lower as the embarrassment sank deeper inside his mind. The tip of his ears was bright red, and they kept twitching uncomfortably.

While, Isaac kowtowed in front of Xie, almost banging his head onto the floor as he begged for the man's forgiveness.

"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry. I had committed a capital offense by laying my paws...I mean, my hands on your body, Your Highness." His voice was laden with guilt for his obnoxious action toward Xie. "I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"

Xie cannot look straight at Isaac. His face was red, maybe due to the humiliation or anger. Either way, Xie was ashamed.

The thing he experienced just now made him realize something crucial. He must learn a martial art and vigorously exercise, so his strength must at least be on par with the capture target. He had never felt so vulnerable in front of another person before. There's this kind of helplessness that scared him shitless. It is a different kind of hopelessness from facing off with a horde of zombies.

As he recalled Isaac's lust-filled gaze with a hint of hunger swirled violently within those scarlet orbs, his body involuntarily shuddered. The way Isaac's eyes locked on him was the same as the predator stalking after their prey. His eyes were very identical to the eyes of the hungry-looking zombies from his old world.

Xie folded his arms in apprehension and subtly put a safe distance between them. The incident from before had traumatized him, and he got scarred for life!

Furthermore, just what did you expect from a virgin like him? It was his first time engaged in something sexual, and instead of expecting a slow and gentle approach, Isaac jumped on the gun and attacked him!

Don't even mention kissing or the one beyond that. Xie had never held anyone's hand and expressed his feeling intimately.

The one time someone held his hand was in his old world, where a girl he was interested in suddenly shoved him into a horde of zombies, whereas she fled to safety, leaving him alone to fend for himself.

To say he was shocked was an understatement!

He got baffled by her action, and his scalp numbed at her decisiveness of throwing someone else's life only to save herself, even though they were inseparable at the beginning of their encounter.

At that time, reality finally descended inside his bleak mind. That girl only wanted to use him, and she approached him with an ulterior motive.

He learned something then. Never trust anyone, especially when your life is on the verge of danger which you cannot fathom your safety.

Xie blinked his eyes and paused his useless reminiscence after hearing a loud banging sound from inside the toilet stalls.

Out of nowhere, one of the doors opened up, and two people accidentally stumbled out of the toilet stall.

They embarrassingly exchanged a stupified look with one another before throwing a subtle glance at him and Isaac. A deadly silence followed suit, too silent that you could even hear the sound of a pin dropping onto the floor.

The strangers: "..."

Xie: "...."

What the heck is this?!

Two unknown people unceremoniously came out from one of the toilet stalls and stared at him with wide eyes, and like a deer caught in the headlight, they had guilty conscience all over their faces. It was as if they had done something wrong inside there before getting busted out by their own negligence.

"Uhh...did we interrupt something?" The man deliberately asked in a polite tone.

Xie skeptically looked at the man and the woman. His scrutinized gaze made the strangers aware of something and a sense of crisis dawned over them.

"It seems that it was us who might interrupt you guys?" Xie gestured at their slightly disheveled state. The woman's unbuttoned shirt had exposed her collarbone littered with hickeys. And the man forgot to unzip his pants. Xie frowned in disgust as he spotted a wet mark on the man's pants. "We're sorry for bothering you guys," Xie added the latter sentence solemnly.

Upon hearing Xie's remark, they hastily tidied up their messy appearance. The woman ashamedly hid behind her boyfriend while her fingers fastened the buttons on her shirt and uncrumpled her skirt.

"So, can you guys listen to me first?" Xie snapped his fingers, attracting their attention toward him once again.

They both looked at him with a rapt attentiveness.

"Whatever you heard here, please keep to yourself. Perish any dangerous thought immediately from your mind. Will you guys do that for me?" Xie gave them a polite smile even if the smile never reached his eyes. "Or else..."

The man and woman vigorously nodded their heads. They understood the underlying threat behind Xie's words and his polite smile.

"Please rest assured, sirs. We would never say anything regarding the matter inside this public toilet." They said in unison voice.

Xie let out a satisfied hum.

The man got curious about the prostrating man in front of Xie. Even from his backside profile, he could deduce that the person's attractiveness is beyond his own. And, based on his high-quality clothes and shiny leather shoes, his status is definitely higher than theirs. They were only ordinary folks. Who is the man? He craned his neck and discreetly moved forward to peek.

His heart almost dropped as soon as their gazes hooked on. The person's chilling expression made his legs buckle. Fear marred his face.

"We...we're going first, sirs!" He dragged his girlfriend and bolted outside frantically.

Isaac's slightly darkened eyes lingered on their disappearing backs. His icy gaze seemed to want to freeze everything hindering his way.

"Aren't you going to stand up, Isaac?"

Isaac turned to face Xie, who looked at him with raised eyebrows. His frosty look softened, and he gingerly stood up.

"Do you forgive me already?"

"Whatever. If you cannot control yourself, get yourself a girlfriend. I am...a married man. There is a boundary that we shall never overstep."

"I understand. Thanks." Isaac exhaled a relief sigh. "At that time, I do not know what comes up to me, but I can assure you, my self-restraint is actually never this weak. Such an incident will never repeat itself. I promise. If it does repeat, you can hit me, punch me, or whatever you want to do to me, I will accept it gladly."

Xie flinched. Somehow, the latter sentence sounded very wrong in his ears? Why did it make Isaac appear like a masochist to him?

------

Soon after leaving the toilet, someone had suddenly rammed his tiny body into Xie's.

Xie was startled.

"Alaric?"

A small patch of dirty brown hair buried itself into his chest. Then, cautiously, he looked up. Alaric's eyes were puffy and red. He hummed in response before rubbing his face on Xie's chest. He, however, had stopped crying.

"I went overboard with my teasing, isn't it?" Xie brushed the remnant of tears from Alaric's eyes. He regretted his previous action.

A phobia is an anxiety disorder and cannot be taken lightly. Instead of applying Xie's nonsensical method in curing Alaric's psychological shadow, he should seek an expert's treatment and guidance.

"I'm sorry. Will you forgive me?"

Karma is a bitch. That quote was damn right to befit itself into his situation. Since he cruelly teased the poor and innocent Alaric, fate decided to pay him back on behalf of the child.

He got teased back by Isaac. Luckily, Isaac's self-restraint was formidable enough to suppress his desire at bay. Or, he couldn't imagine the outcome of his situation just now.

Just recalling the scene from before made Xie's scalp numbed.

Alaric nodded his head.

"I forgive you, madam. But, if you do that again, I will stop being your servant and retire."

Xie scoffed.

"Retire? To where you rascal?"

"I gonna find a pretty and rich girlfriend and go elope with her."

Xie pinched the boy's cheek.

"Elope? An underage boy like you? Hmm, it looks like our Alaric's courage has overgrown itself. That's why he could spout such nonsense."

"It's true. I will leave you alone, forever and ever." Alaric puffed his cheeks in anger. "I'm not going to visit you, nor I would miss you."

"Alright. I already say sorry."

"You better be sincere in your apologies."

"Yes, yes. I am a virtuous man. I will never lie to you, Alaric."

-----

Extra 1#

Isaac: (Bashfully gave Xie his clothes)

Xie: (Still felt humiliated and couldn't look straight at Isaac's face but still accepted the clothes) ...What is this outfit?

Isaac: (Turned around only to catch a glimpse of a maid outfit with frilly lace and black stockings inside Xie's hand) ...?!

Xie: ...(Stared skeptically at the guilty-looking Isaac)

Isaac: ...Uhh...that...(Sweaty)

Xie: ....(One of his eyebrows rose, expecting an answer from Isaac)

Isaac: ....(Cannot stand Xie's probing gaze) .....

Xie: What is your excuse?

Isaac: I'm sorry! (Groveled on the floor again)

--------

Extra 2#

Girlfriend: Baby, what's wrong with you? You looked pale.

Boyfriend: I'm dead.

Girlfriend: Pardon?

Boyfriend: (Plopped on a wooden bench nearby and burst into tears) ...Do you know the person on the floor?

Girlfriend: I'm not sure, but he seemed familiar to me? Also, he is handsome! He has this domineering aura around his body like those overbearing presidents in a romance novel (Squeled excitedly)

Boyfriend: (Stared vacantly) That because he is indeed a president.

Girlfriend: Really? Awesome! Which company?

Boyfriend: Mine.

Girlfriend: (Blinked her eyes rapidly and as she tried to digest the information she received a moment ago) That man...is your...boss, baby?

Boyfriend: (Stared at his girlfriend, dead in the eyes) I'm doomed.

Girlfriend: ...We witness your employer trying to molest a royalty. Should we... threaten him with that?

Boyfriend: That will make the situation worsen. And my boss had ties with the mafia.

Girlfriend: (Scared and changed her mind) ...Should we take a vacation somewhere?

Boyfriend: We should take one. (Added the following sentence in a solemn voice) It could be our last vacation in our life.

Girlfriend: (Hugged her boyfriend and consoled him) Where shall we go?

Boyfriend: A holiday on a cruise sound good.

Girlfriend: Yes. Sounds good.

Boyfriend: And we can jump from the deck after having enough fun. (Became even more depressed than before)

Girlfriend: ...Come on, man! Think positively!