"Nah. I guess not." Xue Yang had to admit that. He supposed he had a point there. It still felt strange, his chest oddly tight and pained when he considered it. He didn't want to lose Meng Yao. He liked the idea of coming home to him smiling like this too much.

So he moved his hand, drawing a line along his throat with the tip of one finger. "If I find that you've tried to get away when I come back, I'll find you, however far you've got, and I'll slit your throat."

It was said almost casually, which perhaps made it all the more chilling. "I won't cut too deeply. You'd bleed out slowly, drowning in it. It can take hours."