At six in the morning, Xia Liuyi dragged Cui Dongdong out for a meeting.
The two of them sat at a roadside stall, yawning as they ate instant noodles with luncheon meat and egg, washing it down with paper-cup coffee so diluted it tasted like water. Cui Dongdong, sleep-deprived and irritable, snapped,
“Boss, look up—dawn hasn’t even broken yet! If you can’t sleep because of a breakup, don’t drag me down with you, alright?”
Xia Liuyi slammed his plastic coffee cup onto the table! The straw spat out a gush of black liquid with a squelch!
Cui Dongdong had been about to slam her bowl in retaliation, but when she looked up and saw his darkened expression and haggard state, she ultimately couldn’t bring herself to do it. With a sigh, she asked,
“You still haven’t made up with that Xiao Sanzi?”
Xia Liuyi’s face remained dark—he said nothing.
“Take the hint when it’s offered. If he gives you a way out, just take it—why keep putting on airs?”
His face darkened further, but he still said nothing.
He had grievances he couldn’t voice. Frustration—too much frustration. It wasn’t that he refused to step down—it was that He Chusan hadn’t given him any step to descend from this time. The bastard had simply ignored him for two whole months.
In every argument between them, it had always been He Chusan who compromised. Xia Liuyi knew that one shot wouldn’t scare him off—the thick-skinned punk wouldn’t give up so easily. That kid was surely plotting something in secret… or simply icing him out, forcing him to be the one to soften first.
But Xia Liuyi would never bow his head.
—Even if it killed him!
After a long silence, his expression dark and brooding, he finally spoke:
“Master Qiao…”
“Hm?” Cui Dongdong blinked in confusion—the topic had shifted too abruptly.
“He went to Thailand last week to pay respects to his godfather, but the old man refused to see him. Even Jade Guanyin treated him coldly. He lost face over there—he won’t just let it go. Since Jade Guanyin and I are on good terms, he’ll suspect I was meddling.”
Cui Dongdong let out a derisive snort.
“If he can’t get into Maitreya Buddha’s good graces, that’s his own problem—why blame others? Besides, if Maitreya refuses to do business with him, he’ll still have to come to us for supply. If he falls out with us, it won’t benefit him.”
“Even so, we can’t let our guard down. Tell the brothers—be extra careful when dealing with his operations.”
“Got it.”
Just as Cui Dongdong finished speaking, Xia Liuyi’s brick phone rang. He glanced down—it was Xiao Ma. A flicker of confusion crossed his face as he picked it up.
“Boss! This is bad—really bad!” Xiao Ma’s anxious shouting burst through the line.
“Bullshit! What could possibly happen this early in the morning? And don’t you dare bring up that He—”
“It’s not about him—it’s Big Scarhead! He’s been arrested!”
……
At five in the morning, the police had raided one of Xiaoqi Hall’s gambling dens. Big Scarhead, still asleep, was caught red-handed along with several overnight gamblers—and hundreds of thousands in cash.
Illegal gambling alone would’ve been minor. The real problem was that he had been preparing to distribute goods that day—and beneath his pillow was half a jin of “white powder”.
When the fine white powder spilled all over the floor, not only did the half-asleep, nearly naked Big Scarhead stare in shock—even the officers conducting the search were stunned.
They had only responded to a call reporting a “group brawl.”
Big Scarhead understood the rules. He took all the charges upon himself, asking only that the lawyer pass along a message—his mother was to be looked after.
Xia Liuyi was taken in for questioning early that morning, and walked out clean by the afternoon.
Though the Boss himself was safe, Xiaoqi Hall’s losses were devastating—
A Red Pole had been arrested, multiple gambling dens shut down, and with the seized goods, the losses ran into the millions. The crackdown on gambling and drugs even made the papers.
Big Scarhead was labeled the ringleader, burdened with multiple charges. Even though Xia Liuyi hired several top-tier lawyers—silver-tongued enough to twist black into white—arguing that the “white powder” had been planted, he was still sentenced to five years.
That, however, is a story for later.
……
After being released on bail, Xia Liuyi walked out of the station with a grim expression.
Xiao Ma and the others were waiting outside in a car. As Xiao Ma opened his mouth to speak, Xia Liuyi waved him off, signaling him to drive first.
They arrived at a secluded safehouse. Inside, Cui Dongdong and several trusted subordinates sat in silence, smoking cigars.
Seeing him enter, Cui Dongdong stood.
“Boss.”
“I have something to discuss with you.” Her expression was complicated.
The two of them went into a side room alone.
Cui Dongdong hesitated, then finally took out a tiny, damaged signal receiver—no bigger than a fingernail—and placed it before him.
Xia Liuyi froze, then gritted his teeth.
“I suspected Xiao Ma. I even considered Uncle Yuan. Never thought the problem would come from you. You’re not careless—how could you miss something like this?”
The fact that Big Scarhead had goods that night—aside from his downstream contacts—was known only to Xiao Ma and Cui Dongdong. Xia Liuyi had always assumed Xiao Ma had leaked the information. He had never once considered her.
“You’re right,” Cui Dongdong said evenly. “I’m not careless. So how could I have missed something like this?”
“This was installed in my phone. It could monitor my calls at any time. My phone never leaves my side—so when could someone have planted it?”
“This is my mistake,” she admitted. “But after thinking it over again and again… there was only that one time…”
“When?”
She hesitated, then said,
“Last month, I met with that Xiao Sanzi. During the meeting, he accidentally knocked over a teacup and soaked my clothes. I went to the restroom…”
“It couldn’t be him!” Xia Liuyi cut her off. “If he wanted to pull something, he could’ve just bugged me directly!”
“You said yourself—you two haven’t met for a long time. And if he did that, he’d be the first person you’d suspect. After all, he’s the only one who had that kind of access.”
“And what about the people around you?” Xia Liuyi shot back. “Couldn’t Xiao Luo have tampered with it?”
“Xiao Luo has been with me for seven years! If you doubt her, you’re doubting me!” Cui Dongdong snapped, anger rising.
“……”
Xia Liuyi said nothing, his face dark.
After a while, he pulled out a cigarette, lit it, took a drag, then offered it to her.
Still displeased, she refused to take it.
Xia Liuyi pushed it toward her again impatiently.
“Enough. You know I didn’t mean it like that.”
She snatched the cigarette from him, accepting the awkward apology, then explained more calmly:
“Xiao Luo’s been involved in many of the gang’s affairs. Things like where the gambling dens are, whether Big Scarhead had goods—she could’ve learned through other channels. Why go through the trouble of bugging my phone?”
“This whole thing came too suddenly,” she continued. “None of our ‘friendly inspectors’ gave any warning. The officers who carried out the raid weren’t Xie Jiahua’s people, nor were they acting under direct orders. They just responded to a report early in the morning—and by sheer coincidence, uncovered our den and the goods.”
“It looks like an accident. But then we find this bug in my phone.”
“If it were one of our enemies, why didn’t it implicate you or me? Why didn’t they expose our ‘warehouse’? Why target only Big Scarhead—someone who knows relatively little and doesn’t handle much goods?”
“This person knows our operations—but doesn’t want to destroy Xiaoqi Hall. Instead, they want to strike the mountain to scare the tiger, draw the police’s attention, weaken us, force us to pull back.”
“Isn’t that exactly what that Xiao Sanzi has always wanted?”
Xia Liuyi lit a second cigarette, his face grim.
“Why did you meet A-San in private?”
“He had several projects—he wanted me to set up a new company to invest.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It was my fault. He asked me not to tell you. The projects were handled carefully—I thought he was leaving you a way out. And since you two were in a cold war, I didn’t mention it.”
Xia Liuyi fell silent again. He couldn’t blame Cui Dongdong—he had tacitly allowed her dealings with He Chusan. Neither bore ill intent, and as the Hall’s chief steward, her priority was always its financial interests. He had always trusted her judgment completely.
He finished his cigarette quietly, leaned back, and exhaled deeply. “I don’t believe he’d harm me. He knows what happened with Xu Ying and A-Da. He knows betrayal is what I hate most. He’s smart—he wouldn’t make me hate him. Keep investigating.”
Cui Dongdong sighed softly. “Other than you, I’m the last person who wants to suspect him. If it’s not him, all the better. But stay cautious.”
“I know. Get good lawyers for Scarhead. Take care of his mother. Suspend the off-the-books business for now—wait until things cool down.”
“Understood.”
…
At dusk, He Chusan got out of a taxi, limping slightly as he hurried into the village house. A-Sen and A-Nan greeted him and called inside, “Boss, Mr. He is here.”
Xia Liuyi, lounging on the sofa smoking, sat up with a darkened expression. “What are you here for?”
He Chusan hadn’t expected his anger to remain so strong after two months, but he stepped inside calmly. “Xiao He told me Scarhead was arrested this morning, and you were taken in for questioning. I came to check on you.”
“There are cops watching outside. Get lost.”
He Chusan smiled, revealing neat white teeth. “It’s fine. Sir Xie already knows we’re close. Let them investigate—I’ve nothing to hide.”
He went straight to the kitchen, plated the shrimp dumplings he’d brought, and set them before Xia Liuyi. “Eat something. You skipped lunch, didn’t you?”
Xia Liuyi glanced at him irritably—He Chusan’s expression was as gentle and open as ever.
He beckoned. As He Chusan stepped closer, Xia Liuyi suddenly pulled him down by the waist and pinned him onto the sofa!
Confused but compliant, He Chusan lay beneath him, gazing up. Xia Liuyi stared into his eyes—clear, filled with affection, longing, and concern.
After a long moment, Xia Liuyi sighed and lowered his head to kiss him.
“Mmm…” He Chusan gasped softly, unable to suppress his excitement.
His lips were soft and burning, igniting Xia Liuyi instantly. Gripping his wrists above his head, Xia Liuyi kissed him roughly, biting down hard—as if to crush him!
This damned little fox in lamb’s skin! A bastard whose face and heart never matched!
—Are you the one scheming behind my back? I should tear off that honest mask and pry open your skull to see what’s inside!
He Chusan met his gaze tenderly, accepting every bit of his violence. When Xia Liuyi bit his lip until it bled, he flinched—then leaned back in, offering the iron-tasting warmth of blood like a sacrifice.
—I missed you.
They kissed fiercely yet quietly, so softly that even A-Sen and A-Nan at the door noticed nothing. After nearly ten minutes, He Chusan finally pulled away, resting against Xia Liuyi’s shoulder, whispering, “I’m sorry.”
Xia Liuyi’s heart tensed. “For what?”
“I thought if I left you alone, you’d come around.”
Xia Liuyi snorted.
“I was wrong. You’d never turn back. But if I didn’t come, I was afraid you’d go too far away.” He traced Xia Liuyi’s brow. “When I heard your ‘company’ had trouble, I nearly lost my mind. And then I realized—I missed you like crazy.”
“Disgusting.”
He slapped and squeezed He Chusan’s cheek lightly, then kissed his forehead, his chest tingling with restless warmth.
He Chusan grinned, nuzzling him like a dog. “Eat first. I’ll cook dinner.”
They avoided mentioning their past quarrel. That was always their way—argue, distance, then quietly turn the page. Beneath calm waters, currents churned—one holding his ground, the other advancing step by step.
He Chusan cooked Hainan chicken, steamed fish, and baked cookies. Xia Liuyi, tasting the home-cooked food, felt his eyes sting.
—This bastard really starved me for two months and eleven days!
—Who fired the gun first, Boss Xia?
He Chusan, risking his life for love, had little appetite. He sat watching Xia Liuyi, eyes tired but tender.
“Not eating?”
“Ate at the office.”
“Didn’t sleep well?”
“Pulled an all-nighter.”
Xia Liuyi slowed, glancing at him—the anonymous call had been made at five a.m.
He Chusan yawned calmly.
“Go sleep,” Xia Liuyi said, wiping his eyes.
He Chusan obediently curled up on the sofa, only to be smacked with a cushion. “Stop pretending. Go to bed!”
He went upstairs, bathed, and collapsed onto Xia Liuyi’s bed, breathing in his scent with satisfaction. Xia Liuyi followed later, watching TV.
The noise woke He Chusan. He wrapped around Xia Liuyi’s waist and drifted back to sleep.
Xia Liuyi turned the TV silent.
The phone rang. He answered—but there was no sound.
“Hello?”
…
It was an unfamiliar number—and He Chusan’s phone.
He hung up.
“Who was it?” He Chusan murmured.
“Sleep.”
The next morning, He Chusan answered a call and stepped outside. “Alright. See you downstairs.”
He dressed. Xia Liuyi yawned and kicked him. “Working on a Saturday?”
“Something urgent. I’ll cook lunch when I’m back.”
“Don’t bother coming back.”
He Chusan left quietly.
Xia Liuyi lay there, then rose barefoot, retrieving a receiver device.
He put on the headphones and switched it on.
Through static, He Chusan’s voice came:
“Driver, Central—Pedder Street.”
Futile Devices Scans 
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