He Chu San knelt on the floor and took the beating without dodging. He had always been unusually sensible from childhood, and Father He believed strongly in proper education, so throughout his entire life He Chu San had only been beaten twice. The previous time had been when he broke his leg and hid it from his father. Back then, every strike from Father He had produced a miserable howl and a pitiful plea for mercy. This time, no matter how viciously Father He beat him, He Chu San clenched his teeth and did not make a sound.
Seeing him look so completely unrepentant only made Father He angrier. At the crucial moment, the old man’s health did not betray him in the slightest: neither his cerebrovascular problems nor his heart condition flared up. He kicked He Chu San to the floor and, full of energy, beat him nearly half to death. Xin Xin and Mother Wu repeatedly tried to intervene, only to be shoved away amid furious shouting.
When He Chu San finally began curling up beneath the blows and coughing, whether from the pain or because his cold and inflamed throat were making it difficult to breathe, Xin Xin could no longer bear it. Crying, she threw herself over him.
“Then hit me! If you’re going to beat Brother to death, beat me to death first!”
“Move!” Father He could not bring himself to strike his daughter.
“Brother saved my life! I’d give my life back to him if I had to!” Xin Xin cried. “Brother said Brother Liu Yi saved him too. Brother Liu Yi is such a good person. What’s wrong with Brother liking him? Why are you hitting him? They’re together and they haven’t hurt anybody! Just because he likes Brother Liu Yi, does that mean he isn’t your son anymore?”
Father He found himself unable to answer a single sentence. Looking at He Chu San lying miserably on the floor, he could no longer bring himself to continue. He angrily threw down the broom, opened the door, and strode away.
Mother Wu looked worriedly at He Chu San, told Xin Xin to stay and care for him, then hurried after Father He. She was afraid his heart condition might flare up and planned to persuade him once his anger subsided.
He Chu San lay facedown on the floor as the room spun around him. His stomach convulsed, and he vomited up everything he had eaten that evening.
In a haze, he felt Xin Xin help him up and guide him toward the bedroom. Before he even reached the bed, his legs gave way and he collapsed.
“Brother!” Xin Xin cried in alarm.
“I’m fine,” He Chu San murmured with his eyes closed. “Dad didn’t hit anything serious. Don’t take me to the hospital. I haven’t slept properly in a long time. Let me sleep for a while.”
His head felt heavy and confused. He suspected he really was sick. He had always been healthy and full of energy and could not even remember the last time he had fallen ill. Never before had both his body and mind been exhausted to the point of collapse. To everyone else, he was an outstanding young man, an elite professional, the figure known in the underworld as the Little Fortune-Bringer—young, wealthy, intelligent, quick-witted, confident, and composed. But he was neither flawless nor indestructible, nor could he effortlessly manipulate everything from the palm of his hand. For every measure of brilliance others saw, he had paid many times more effort where no one could see. He had been born and raised in Kau Lung Walled City, and the helplessness and poverty of that life had surrounded his childhood. He had witnessed suffering and separation, hardship and resignation. In a single lifetime, how many people truly escaped sickness, disaster, or ill fortune? How many people obtained everything they wanted simply because they reached for it? The invincible protagonists in films could accomplish anything, but who in reality could do the same with ease? He stood alone, young and without much power behind him. To turn the tide and reverse the situation would demand enormous hardship and an immense price. He knew that perfectly well, which was why he took every step as though walking over thin ice, never daring to underestimate the danger, never allowing himself arrogance, and never letting himself relax.
Throughout this period, he had been investigating in secret, moving pieces into position, throwing himself into work, building a network and accumulating capital for the major plan he intended to carry out in the future. At the same time, he had continued his tactic of retreating from Xia Liu Yi in order to make him come forward and reconcile on his own. Day after day of mental effort, constant tension, worry for Xia Liu Yi, running around, suppressed emotions, and sleepless nights had gradually hollowed him out. Father He’s anger and disappointment were simply the final straw.
He regretted it. In his grief and anger, he had forgotten even to pick up the ring he threw away. He felt guilty. He had never intended to shock and hurt Father He like this. Even if one day he told his father the truth, he would have prepared and laid the groundwork carefully. It would never have happened so abruptly and beyond his control. And he felt anxious. Xia Liu Yi still had not come to reconcile, leaving He Chu San uncertain how much weight he truly held in Xia Liu Yi’s heart. He feared that Xia Liu Yi would stubbornly continue forward and step onto a road of no return before He Chu San had time to act.
Yet he no longer had the mental strength to consider what he should do next. He would not stop. He would not give up. But he was exhausted and desperately wanted to rest, even if only for this one night.
Half-conscious, he felt Xin Xin laboriously pull him onto the bed, wipe his face with a towel, help him rinse his mouth, remove his coat and trousers, rub medicinal liniment over the red, swollen bruises across his shoulders and back, and cover him with the blanket. With every last shred of energy depleted, he finally fell into a deep sleep.
Xin Xin switched off the bedroom light and went back outside. As she cleaned the wreckage in the living room, she sighed repeatedly and felt deeply wronged on behalf of her brother. What right did Dad have to beat him? He was such a wonderful son. And whom did liking men hurt?
She muttered complaints about Father He under her breath while tidying the apartment. When she looked at the clock, it was already past nine in the evening, yet there was still no sign of her powerful Sister-in-Law returning home. She therefore dug out He Chu San’s brick phone, intending to call and tell her Sister-in-Law to hurry back.
She searched through the recent calls and discovered that He Chu San had spoken only with people who appeared to be colleagues and clients over the past few days. Then she opened the contacts list. After searching for a long time without finding Xia Liu Yi’s name, she noticed someone saved as Kitten who had exchanged messages with He Chu San many days earlier. Opening the conversation immediately confirmed that this was her Sister-in-Law.
Kitten meant a little cat.
“Pfft…”
Without warning, Xin Xin had been smacked directly in the face with their lovey-dovey nonsense. Imagining her handsome, dashing Sister-in-Law as a tiny kitten in her brother’s mind, she shuddered with secondhand embarrassment while struggling not to laugh.
She was about to dial the number when something suddenly felt wrong. There was dust all over the coffee table. Her brother said he had been sleeping at work for several days. He looked exhausted. The diamond ring had been thrown into a crack beside the cabinet. It was already so late, yet her Sister-in-Law had not come home. Their phone contact had stopped days ago.
Xin Xin’s heart jolted.
A woman’s intuition told her that these two had very possibly broken up.
But if they had broken up, why hadn’t Brother told Dad just now? He could at least have spared himself some of that beating.
And if they had broken up, why were all of Sister-in-Law’s belongings still here? Hadn’t he taken them away?
Xin Xin could not make sense of it no matter how she thought, so she gave up. She decided not to make the call for now either. She did not know what was happening between the two of them, and Brother might only blame her for interfering.
She wrapped herself in her coat and sat on the sofa, planning to make do there for the night and buy some cold medicine for her brother in the morning. She muted the television and gradually became drowsier, her head nodding lower and lower.
Suddenly, the elevator chimed in the corridor outside. Footsteps approached, followed by the sound of a key entering the lock.
Instantly alert, Xin Xin sprang up, grabbed the broom, and rushed behind the door. The visitor hurried inside only to be greeted by a raised broom and Xin Xin’s tense, guarded face.
Xia Liu Yi looked equally tense and guarded. When he realized it was her, confusion filled his face. “Xin Xin?”
“Brother Liu Yi!” Xin Xin exclaimed in surprise and delight. “You’re back!”
“Where’s your dad?” Xia Liu Yi asked. Like a man approaching a battlefield, he cautiously peered into the apartment.
“Gone! He’s gone!”
Xia Liu Yi had arrived prepared for the heroic prospect of confronting Father He head-on and sacrificing himself to rescue A’San. Hearing that he would not have to face Father He directly, he immediately relaxed, only to become anxious again.
“Where’s A’San? How is he? Did he get hurt?”
“He’s inside…” Xin Xin had not even finished speaking before Xia Liu Yi squeezed past her without removing his shoes. Seeing no one in the living room, he hurried toward the bedroom.
“Shh. He’s sleeping,” Xin Xin whispered, rushing after him. “Keep your voice down.”
Xia Liu Yi carefully opened the door and quietly approached the bed. By the moonlight, he studied He Chu San’s sleeping face. He Chu San looked pale and exhausted, his brows tightly furrowed even in sleep as though deeply troubled. Xia Liu Yi’s heart clenched painfully. He instinctively reached out to touch him, then stopped himself for fear of waking him.
After staring at He Chu San in a dazed, lovesick trance for a while, he finally recovered himself and quietly withdrew.
“How is he?” he asked Xin Xin in a low voice. “Where did he get hurt?”
“Just some surface injuries. I rubbed liniment on him. But he has a cold, he’s exhausted, and he vomited earlier.” Xin Xin’s sharp instincts immediately caught something odd. “How did you know he was beaten?”
Xia Liu Yi looked awkward. “Cough. I put bodyguards next door.”
Father He’s beating and shouting had been so loud that it could be heard through the wall. Realizing something was wrong, the bodyguards immediately called the Boss. At the time, the Boss was floating at sea entertaining Master Qiao. The instant he heard that the Boss’s wife was being thrashed by his father-in-law, Xia Liu Yi was so frightened that his heart nearly jumped straight into the ocean. He hurriedly claimed there was an emergency at the company, sent the models below deck to entertain Master Qiao with the “electric games,” transferred to a speedboat, and raced back.
“Why did your dad hit him?” Xia Liu Yi asked, confused. He Chu San was always filial, sensible, and careful in everything he did. It was difficult to imagine him doing anything that would enrage Father He enough to strike him.
Xin Xin reached into her pocket, pulled out the diamond ring she had recovered while cleaning, and thrust it straight in front of Xia Liu Yi’s face. “This! Dad found it!”
Xia Liu Yi stared wide-eyed at the enormous, glittering diamond ring.
Hadn’t A’San thrown it away? He had thrown it and never picked it up? And Father He had found it?
“Then… Dad… he… he…” Xia Liu Yi became so frightened that he actually began stammering.
“He found out about the two of you!” Xin Xin said.
“…”
The deafening shriek of a dentist’s drill seemed to erupt beside Xia Liu Yi’s ears. For the first time in his life, terror made his knees weak. Trembling, he clutched his suddenly aching jaw and stood there completely helpless.
Seeing his face go pale while he covered his cheek and shook, Xin Xin did not know whether to laugh or cry. Remembering how her brother had behaved almost identically when Father He discovered the ring, she decided that her brother and Sister-in-Law were truly a perfectly matched pair of cowards. One was a financial elite, the other a triad Boss. Outside, they could summon wind and rain and dominate their respective battlefields, but the moment they returned home and Father He glared at them, both wanted to clutch their heads and run.
Then Xin Xin noticed Xia Liu Yi’s terrified appearance, remembered her suspicions about his relationship with He Chu San, and finally smelled the unmistakable scent of debauchery on him—alcohol, cigarettes, and overpowering women’s perfume.
Her indignation immediately flared. “Did you go drinking with other people?”
Xia Liu Yi became even more awkward. “Cough. I had business to discuss.”
“Have you and Brother not spoken for a long time?” Xin Xin demanded, advancing on him. “Did you two break up? Did you bully him?”
Xia Liu Yi found himself forced into the corner. “It isn’t what you think. We didn’t break up. We only argued a little…”
Xin Xin glared, suddenly terrifying. “Brother was nearly beaten to death because of you! You argued with him and then went drinking with other people! Sister-in-Law, you’re horrible!”
You just said his injuries weren’t serious! How badly was he actually beaten?
Xia Liu Yi was so guilty and worried that he completely failed to notice Xin Xin had just called him Sister-in-Law.
“I don’t care. Go make up with him right now!” Xin Xin declared firmly. “Brother is unhappy, he’s sick, and he got beaten, and all of it is because of you. You’re not allowed to leave tonight. You have to take good care of him, and when he wakes up, apologize properly!”
Xia Liu Yi nodded quickly. He had no intention of leaving anyway. Even if Father He returned that night and beat him to death on the spot, he would not go.
“And keep the ring safe.” Xin Xin shoved the diamond ring back into his hand. “How can you throw something this important around? Why are you so careless?”
Xia Liu Yi was inexplicably scolded again and could only endure the injustice in silence. Heaven was his witness—the ring had clearly been thrown by He Chu San.
After lecturing him for another while, Xin Xin finally handed over responsibility for He Chu San and prepared to leave.
“I’m warning you. Don’t bully my brother again! I’m coming back tomorrow to check!”
Xia Liu Yi nodded helplessly. “Go home. It’s late. Ask the bodyguards next door to take you.”
“No need. Let them stay and protect the two of you. Otherwise some bad person might come and try to kill my brother again! Do you have any idea how exhausting it is for him to date you?”
Xin Xin stabbed him one last time before leaving.
Xia Liu Yi felt as though he were bleeding from every orifice. He hurriedly waved her out the door and silently ranked Xin Xin’s terrifying nature just below Father He and He Chu San when he wore that eerie smile.
After Xin Xin left, Xia Liu Yi placed the ring on the bedside table and carefully checked He Chu San’s condition. He wrung out a damp towel and wiped away his sweat, washed up himself, then cautiously climbed into bed beside him.
He had not slept properly for a long time either. Nights without He Chu San felt like sinking into a swamp—silent, airless, suffocating.
He touched He Chu San’s face and watched him quietly in the moonlight for a long time. Only when his consciousness finally blurred beyond endurance did he pull He Chu San into his arms, close his eyes, and fall into a deep sleep.
…
Xia Liu Yi had a dream that was not particularly pleasant, but by the time he woke drenched in sweat, he had forgotten everything about it. He stared blankly at the morning light filling the room, then instinctively reached over and touched He Chu San’s forehead.
It was burning.
He immediately jumped out of bed and called the private doctor. The doctor hurried over, gave He Chu San an injection to reduce the fever, and hung an IV beside the bed.
Xia Liu Yi repeatedly changed out ice and damp towels to cool He Chu San’s forehead. The doctor was the same man who had gone to Thailand and personally watched Mr. He care for the Boss with painstaking devotion day after day. He had long since guessed the nature of their relationship. Now, seeing the Boss nervously tending to the unconscious Mr. He, he finally could not resist asking, “Did you two do ‘it’ last night and then leave ‘that’ inside him without cleaning him afterward?”
“Go to hell!” Xia Liu Yi snapped. Worried about waking He Chu San, he immediately lowered his voice. “We didn’t.”
“You really didn’t clean him?” The doctor gave him an accusing look.
An intimate image of He Chu San cleaning him after sex flashed helplessly through Xia Liu Yi’s mind. His backside tingled at the memory, and embarrassment flushed his entire face red. “What are you thinking? We didn’t do anything last night.”
The doctor gave him a look of complete disbelief.
For no reason whatsoever, the Boss had once again been branded a terrible top and had no way to defend himself. He felt deeply wronged.
…
Xin Xin stopped by around noon to inspect whether Sister-in-Law had bullied her brother and to bring over fresh fish congee Mother Wu had prepared. Seeing He Chu San burning with fever, attached to an IV, and sleeping weakly, she immediately became indignant again and almost started lecturing Sister-in-Law. But when she noticed how anxious and guilty Xia Liu Yi looked, she decided he had at least recognized his mistakes.
Instead, she went home and poured all that indignation onto Father He.
Brother had a fever because you beat him! He was practically dying!
Father He was still angry but could not stop worrying about his son. He muttered irritably, “Fine! I won’t hit him, and I won’t control him anymore! He can do whatever he likes!”
He remembered the words He Chu San’s birth mother had spoken before she died: Our son carries your surname. Whatever happens, don’t let him enter the underworld.
His son had not entered the underworld—but he had climbed directly into bed with someone who had.
What was the difference?
Father He had painstakingly raised him and taught him right from wrong, finally watching him grow into an accomplished adult. Yet in the end, his son had still walked down such a crooked path.
And the other person was a man.
How could Father He face He Chu San’s mother?
Then there was Xia Liu Yi. The boy had a decent face and could at least be called a man who understood reason and manners. Compared with the cheats and petty criminals outside, he had appeared marginally more reliable. That was why Father He tolerated his son associating with him.
And what happened?
That damned Boss had not abducted an innocent young woman.
He had abducted an innocent young man instead.
Father He became increasingly heartsick. He climbed alone to the rooftop and smoked gloomily, his long pipe making rhythmic sucking sounds. Mother Wu carried a bowl of congee upstairs and tried to persuade him, but seeing that he was still furious and refusing to listen to reason, she could only sigh and go back downstairs.
…
Late that night, He Chu San woke to a sharp smell of something burning. He was still feverish and not fully conscious. In his confusion, he thought his kitchen was on fire. Struggling out of bed, he stumbled from the bedroom with his head heavy and his legs weak.
At that exact moment, Xia Liu Yi ran awkwardly out of the smoke-filled kitchen, covering his nose and coughing. He wore an apron and held a ladle.
The two stared at one another.
Am I dreaming? He Chu San wondered blankly. Am I dreaming that Brother Liu Yi is cooking for me? How does he manage to burn down the kitchen even in my dreams?
Xia Liu Yi hurriedly tore off the apron and said awkwardly, “Cough… Xin Xin brought congee this afternoon. I wanted to heat it for you.”
He Chu San stared at him wide-eyed through the fog in his head. He lowered his face, rubbed it several times, and finally became fully awake.
“Why are you here?” His expression instantly turned distant.
This was the first time Xia Liu Yi had ever taken the initiative to approach after an argument and offer a way to reconcile. He awkwardly wiped the sweat from his face and set the ladle on a nearby cabinet. “You still have a fever. Go lie down first.”
He moved closer to help He Chu San, but He Chu San stepped back and avoided his hand. “How did you know I was sick? Where are my dad and mom? Where’s Xin Xin?”
Xia Liu Yi did not know where to begin and did not dare forcibly grab him, so he could only coax, “Go back to bed first. I’ll explain everything slowly.”
He followed He Chu San into the bedroom. He Chu San climbed into bed on his own and leaned against the headboard. Xia Liu Yi sat beside him, still unsure how to begin. Eventually, he picked up the ring from the bedside table and held it out, choosing an exceptionally clumsy opening line because of his nerves.
“I found the ring.”
“My dad found it,” He Chu San corrected him. “You keep it.”
Xia Liu Yi choked on the response and could not speak for a while. Unlike He Chu San, he had no gift for coaxing people with words. After thinking and thinking, he finally said, “Do you remember what you told me before? ‘From now on, we won’t argue or sulk at each other anymore’?”
“Brother Liu Yi, do you still not understand?” He Chu San looked at him sadly. “This time we aren’t arguing, and I’m not sulking. We’re break—”
Xia Liu Yi slapped a hand over his mouth. “You’re not allowed to say that word! I never agreed!”
He Chu San stared silently at him, his eyes clearly saying, What does your agreement have to do with anything? I can decide on my own.
“What exactly do you want me to do?” Xia Liu Yi removed his hand and spoke painfully. “I genuinely don’t want to fight with you, and I absolutely will not separate from you!”
He Chu San remained silent.
Xia Liu Yi stood and paced around the room in agitation before finally sitting back beside the bed. He pulled the photograph from an inner pocket close to his body.
“You just want to know about this photograph, don’t you? Fine. I admit it. It’s connected to Azure Dragon. My trip to Thailand was connected to Azure Dragon too. The Thai man in this photograph caused Azure Dragon’s father’s death, and he caused Azure Dragon’s death as well. I went to Thailand to take revenge on him. I lied to you before because I was afraid you would worry and afraid you wouldn’t let me go. I was wrong.”
He Chu San glanced at the photograph. “There are three people in it. What about the other two?”
“…”
Xia Liu Yi paused before answering. “One is Azure Dragon’s father. The other has nothing to do with this. It’s already over. I… I won’t go anywhere anymore. I’ll stay safe and live peacefully with you from now on. All right?”
He Chu San met the evasive flicker in Xia Liu Yi’s eyes, and the mist and rain inside his own heart slowly crystallized into frost.
If Xia Liu Yi had admitted that the Thai man in the photograph was connected to Azure Dragon’s death, how could the other man, Xie Ying Jie, possibly have nothing whatsoever to do with it? If everything truly had ended in Thailand as Xia Liu Yi claimed, why did Xia Liu Yi remain trapped in nightmares, whispering again and again about revenge and blood debts? Why did he value this photograph so greatly, carrying it close to his body and becoming furious and frantic when it disappeared, demanding that He Chu San return it?
He Chu San did not want to expose Xia Liu Yi’s half-true confession, because doing so would reveal his contact with Lu Guang Ming. But at this moment, he felt genuinely exhausted and wounded by this relationship. Xia Liu Yi’s cowardice, retreat, stubborn bravado, and lies in matters of the heart had become blades, one after another, driven into He Chu San’s chest.
Suddenly, all his persistence, all his effort, and all the care with which he had protected their relationship seemed meaningless. Did Xia Liu Yi truly love him, or did he merely see him as an attentive, comfortable companion who made his life easier and happier? And why was He Chu San, who had always believed that he loved Xia Liu Yi without expecting repayment or keeping score, gradually beginning to feel hurt, wronged, dissatisfied, and even jealous?
“Stop being naive, Brother Liu Yi. How could any of this ever truly end? There will always be someone standing between us. As long as you still carry him in your heart, as long as you remain bound to all those old debts and grudges, we’ll always belong to two different worlds. How can we possibly stay together?”
“I’m too tired,” he said softly. “The two of us… let’s just end it.”
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