Chapter 32: Constantine – I won’t listen!

“John, weren’t you planning to turn this case down? Why did you suddenly change your mind?”

‘Why else?’

Because it would make Jiang Shulan happy.

Ever since Constantine had gotten a taste of the little priest’s affection, he had become hopelessly addicted. His daily routine now consisted of eating, sleeping, and clinging to Jiang Shulan.

If he hadn’t worried that Jiang Shulan would end up breathless or even trigger his heart condition, he might have insisted on feeding him every meal as well.

Still, the little priest’s patience was clearly wearing thin, so Constantine figured he ought to find something else to occupy himself with.

Leaning lazily against the windowsill, shirtless, his lean muscles sharply defined beneath the sunlight, Constantine looked every bit as striking as ever.

His eyes were half-lidded, an unlit cigarette dangling loosely from his lips while he absentmindedly flipped a lighter between his fingers.

He had never imagined he could go an entire week without smoking. Then again, he had found something even more addictive.

The habit was still hard to shake, so Jiang Shulan, who was still curled up asleep beneath the blankets, had thoughtfully given him a lighter as a gift.

It had been free of charge.

Its only special feature was that it couldn’t actually produce a flame.

Thinking of that, Constantine answered the phone with complete righteousness.

“An innocent little girl has been possessed by a demon. How could I possibly ignore it?”

“Huh?”

The person on the other end sounded astonished, but for them, having Constantine agree to help was the best possible outcome, so they immediately rattled off the address.

When Jiang Shulan was lifted out of bed, he didn’t even open his eyes.

Still half asleep, he frowned, ready to complain, until he heard that they were going to perform an exorcism.

Work came first.

He pouted but offered no objection.

In his drowsy haze, he felt Constantine support him with one arm while carrying him face-to-face through brushing his teeth and washing his face, pampering him like an emperor.

The weather outside was beautiful but dry. Though Constantine was usually rough around the edges, he carefully applied the best sunscreen money could buy.

Even so, Jiang Shulan’s skin was so delicate that faint red marks still appeared despite his caution.

Constantine stared at them in remorse for ages, the corners of his eyes turning an unhealthy shade of red, his entire demeanor twisting into something almost unhinged.

Unable to watch any longer, Jiang Shulan smacked him across the face.

The madman instantly became human again, calmly placed a hat on Jiang Shulan’s head, and took him outside.

The constant air conditioning at home had fooled Jiang Shulan into believing the weather wouldn’t be too bad.

The moment he stepped outside, however, the summer heat hit him like a wall.

Kramer arrived to pick them up.

Constantine clung to Jiang Shulan all the way into the car.

Perhaps all new couples behaved this way, wanting to stay together every waking second.

But Constantine had taken it to an almost obsessive extreme.

Every morning after waking, Jiang Shulan would instinctively pat his stomach, only relaxing once he confirmed it was still perfectly flat.

He had protested countless times.

Yet whenever he met Constantine’s eyes, the complaints died in his throat.

After all, Constantine was terminally ill.

Considering his condition, Jiang Shulan felt he ought to indulge him whenever possible.

Compared to when they first met, Constantine had grown much thinner. His complexion had become even paler, giving him the elegant yet sickly appearance of a vampire from a television drama.

Though judging by how energetic he remained at night, one would never guess he was gravely ill.

At first, Jiang Shulan tolerated Constantine practically draping himself over him in the car.

Because of his illness, Constantine’s body always felt unusually cool.

But humans radiate warmth, and after only a few minutes the combined body heat became unbearable.

Jiang Shulan peeled Constantine’s hand off his waist and scooted farther away.

Constantine immediately followed.

Jiang Shulan pushed him back again.

The cycle repeated several times until both of them were sweating.

“Constantine!”

Jiang Shulan puffed out his cheeks in annoyance.

He didn’t want to hit Constantine in front of Kramer.

After all, Kramer worshipped the man.

Constantine merely lowered his gaze and gently bit Jiang Shulan’s finger, paying attention to nothing but him.

Watching through the rearview mirror, Kramer could only stare in disbelief.

His master had somehow transformed into something resembling a lovestruck stray dog desperate to court its chosen companion.

Then again…

Considering that companion was Jiang Shulan, perhaps it made sense.

As he drove, Kramer repeatedly tried to convince himself of exactly that.

The instant they reached their destination, he practically leaped out of the vehicle.

He had thought Constantine was shameless before.

Clearly, he had underestimated him.

Another minute in that car and all his admiration might have shattered completely.

The person awaiting exorcism was a sixteen-year-old girl.

Her mother had woken that morning to discover her daughter crawling across the ceiling, terrifying her nearly to death.

The case had been organized by Father Hennessy, one of Constantine’s friends.

After exchanging only a few words, Constantine got straight to work.

The exorcism itself proceeded smoothly.

But the demon’s behavior made him realize something was wrong.

It was trying to cross fully into the human world through the girl’s body.

Once everything was over, Constantine turned to Hennessy.

“Invite Beeman out for dinner. And since the little priest is mine now, neither of you needs to keep in touch with him anymore.”

“John…”

Hennessy was ordinarily the sort of person who never swore.

But even saints had limits.

“You really are a first-rate bastard.”

Downstairs, Jiang Shulan and Kramer squatted beside an electric fan, trying to cool off.

The family wasn’t well off and had no air conditioning.

The entire house felt like an oven.

“So,” Kramer asked conversationally, “how exactly did you and Constantine end up together?”

Jiang Shulan sighed.

How was he supposed to explain it?

Should he tell Kramer that his idol had chased after him relentlessly, using his terminal illness as an excuse to seek affection, becoming despondent whenever his feelings weren’t returned?

No.

That story was probably better left untold.

“I wouldn’t feel too bad,” Kramer continued. “Sure, Constantine is stingy, full of himself, and has plenty of flaws…”

He paused before concluding sincerely,

“But he really is handsome.”

Jiang Shulan blinked.

So Kramer, despite looking so serious and dependable, was just another person hopelessly influenced by appearances?

As far as Jiang Shulan was concerned, Kramer’s desire to study exorcism was probably secondary.

What he truly wanted was to learn how to imitate Constantine’s effortless swagger.

“Kramer.”

Constantine’s voice drifted down from the staircase, tinged with unmistakable jealousy.

“Could you stand a little farther away from him?”

Kramer’s scalp prickled.

As he hurried to his feet, he secretly shot Jiang Shulan a sympathetic look that clearly said, Stay strong.

Jiang Shulan answered with an exaggerated crying face.

Before Constantine had even descended the stairs, Jiang Shulan had already covered both ears.

He knew exactly what was coming.

Constantine was about to start hovering around him and talking endlessly again.

Nope.

He wasn’t listening.

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