Several days later, Qin Hao received a call from Cui Dong Dong. She ordered him to drive to the airport alone to pick her up, and accompanying her were two mysterious “Thai friends.” She directed Qin Hao to an abandoned factory out in the countryside, then mysteriously told him to wait outside while she took the foreign guests inside for a “tour.”
After leaving the factory, she brought Qin Hao and the two guests to Taan Heung Pavilion, which was currently closed to the public for restructuring, and entertained the two foreigners with the highest level of hospitality—which amounted to the usual eating, drinking, women, and gambling. During the banquet, she received a phone call and claimed she had something important to attend to, leaving Qin Hao behind to continue keeping them company.
Before she left, she whispered a few instructions to Qin Hao, telling him that the two men were trusted subordinates of Jira Tang, the new Thai representative of Khun Zhang, a major Golden Triangle drug lord. He was to take good care of them and send them to a certain hotel that night. She also told him that the shipment they had brought into Hong Kong would arrive at the docks the next day, so Qin Hao was to remain at home first thing in the morning and be ready at any moment to accompany her to make the “deal.”
Once she had finished giving her instructions, she bade the guests farewell, slipped out through the staff passage, and went upstairs to the general manager’s office. A huge television sat on the desk. Xia Liu Yi lounged crookedly in the boss’s chair with his two long legs propped brazenly on the edge of the desk, a lollipop in his mouth, watching several different surveillance feeds playing simultaneously in split screen on the television—Qin Hao, Black Chicken, Tiger Head, Big Crab, and Snake Girl were each in separate rooms entertaining a different pair of “foreign guests.”
“How does it look?” Cui Dong Dong asked.
Xia Liu Yi patted the other boss’s chair beside him, signaling for her to sit down and watch with him. Cui Dong Dong dropped into the chair, put her feet up on the desk just as he had, and pulled out a cigarette to hang from her lips.
“Who do you think looks like the mole?” Xia Liu Yi asked instead.
“Everyone does, and no one does.” Cui Dong Dong sighed. She had spent the entire day making five complete rounds between the airport, the factory, and Taan Heung Pavilion just to draw each of the suspects into the trap, and she was thoroughly exhausted. She described how each of them had reacted upon learning that he would supposedly accompany Boss Dong Dong on a “deal” the next day. Tiger Head, Big Crab, and Snake Girl were more expressive by nature, while Black Chicken and Qin Hao were more reserved; they had simply nodded and accepted the assignment without saying much.
“Black Chicken isn’t as good in a fight,” Cui Dong Dong said. “Truthfully, if I were actually going out to make a deal, I’d choose Qin Hao. He’s a good man to have at your side.”
“So would I,” Xia Liu Yi said.
Then both of them fell silent, because that was precisely the problem: Qin Hao’s performance was too flawless, too impeccable, making him look more than anyone else like an undercover officer who had come thoroughly prepared.
After a long while, Xia Liu Yi finally said, “I don’t want to suspect him. He saved my life. Twice.”
Cui Dong Dong shook her head. “There are too many suspicious things about him. Think carefully. How did he just happen to be sent to prison at the same time as you? On the day you were surrounded and attacked, all the brothers just happened to be transferred to other cell blocks, leaving him as the only one behind? And he just happened to go to the showers?”
“What about Thailand? He could’ve cooperated with Interpol and handed me over. Why didn’t he? Why did he risk his life to save me?”
“Because his goal was to gain your trust so that after coming back, he could bring down all of Xiao Qi Hall. How long had you even known him? How many conversations had you had? To put it harshly, you were only paying him to work for you. Why would he risk his life for you? If he wasn’t trying to deceive you into trusting him, why would he take a bullet for you?”
“Because I paid for his sister’s surgery! If someone could bring Xiao Man back to life, I’d give them my own life in return!”
At the sound of that name, Cui Dong Dong remained silent for a long time before finally saying, “He and his sister hardly spent any time together. How could their relationship possibly compare with what you and Xiao Man had?”
Those words snapped Xia Liu Yi back to his senses, and only then did he realize how emotional he had become. He raked a hand irritably through his hair and sighed. “Whatever. He’s the person I least want to suspect. There’s no point in the two of us arguing about it now. Tomorrow, whichever transaction time gets exposed will tell us who the mole is. We’ll deal with it then. I have something to do tonight, so I’m leaving.”
Since Xia Liu Yi was leaving, Cui Dong Dong had no patience to stay behind staring at the monitors either. She was exhausted and sleepy and desperately wanted to go home, curl up around Xiao Luo, and get a good night’s sleep. The two of them separately called their bodyguards to bring the cars around.
…
As they stood together by the roadside waiting for their cars, Xia Liu Yi suddenly remembered something. “You really didn’t find Xiao Ma’s body?”
Cui Dong Dong pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag, forcibly suppressing the emotions rising inside her. “No. We searched for an entire week and couldn’t even find a piece of clothing. I think he’s still alive.”
The cigarette smoke stung Xia Liu Yi’s eyes and blurred his vision for a moment. He looked toward the street corner and smiled. “That brat. I knew he was the best at escaping death.”
“I left people there to keep searching.” Cui Dong Dong held the cigarette between two fingers, turned her head away, and wiped at the corner of one eye. “Little bastard. If he isn’t dead, why hasn’t he come back?”
Xia Liu Yi pulled her shoulder into his arms and hugged her hard. “Hang in there.”
Cui Dong Dong sniffed. “I’m fine. I’m happy.” Then she shoved the Boss away. “If I were sad, I wouldn’t cry in front of you anyway.”
“Damn it, now you’re looking down on me?”
“Yeah! Stop hugging me. Anyone who doesn’t know us will think we’re gay.”
“Get lost!”
…
Xia Liu Yi and Cui Dong Dong shoved each other around on the pavement for a while before their bodyguards arrived and escorted them into separate cars. Not far away, inside an utterly inconspicuous van parked by the roadside, He Chu San frowned as he lowered his monitoring earpiece.
Kevin sat opposite him. He had already dyed his yellow hair back to black, and his suit was immaculate. He adjusted the monitoring equipment and asked, “Mr. He, it looks like they’ll discover the undercover agent’s identity tomorrow. What do we do now?”
He Chu San leaned back against the seat and turned his head toward the endless stream of pedestrians and traffic outside the window. He hesitated for a long time, one finger tapping again and again against the ring hanging over his chest.
Kevin waited quietly for a long time. At last, He Chu San emerged from his indecision, closed his hand around the ring, and spoke.
“Tell everyone to prepare. We’re moving.”
…
He Chu San did not return home until evening. Xia Liu Yi had set up several enormous wrought-iron European floor candelabras in the living room, each nearly as tall as a person, and filled them with huge white candles as thick as a forearm and decorated with gold powder. He had laid out an enormous feast and sat on the sofa like a stone statue waiting for his husband to come home. The moment He Chu San opened the door, the blaze of candlelight filling the room nearly blinded him.
He froze in the doorway. “Brother Liu Yi, are you trying to burn the apartment down?”
“Damn you! Aren’t you the one who likes candlelight dinners?!”
He Chu San stared at the enormous candle stands filling the apartment until there was almost nowhere left to step, while the entire room had been heated up like an oven, and he genuinely did not know whether to laugh or cry. It was only a candlelight dinner; there was no need to make it as grand as a banquet in a castle. How big did Xia Liu Yi think this apartment was?
He hurriedly closed the door, then rushed to the window and blew out several enormous candles that were already threatening to set the curtains on fire. Behind him, Xia Liu Yi stood with his arms folded and grumbled irritably, “Why are you back so late?”
“Something came up at the company,” Best Actor He replied with perfect nonchalance. “How long have you been waiting? Why didn’t you call me?”
“Aren’t you the one who likes surprises and romance?!” Xia Liu Yi, who had been waiting for more than two hours, was about to explode.
He Chu San hurried over to the sofa, wrapped his arms around him, and began soothing his ruffled fur. “I’m very surprised. It’s very romantic. I really like it!” Then he glanced at the lavish spread covering the table. “Did you cook all this?”
“Ordered it from the restaurant.”
He Chu San released an exaggerated sigh of relief. “Thank goodness you didn’t try cooking it yourself, or you really would’ve burned—”
He never finished the sentence before Xia Liu Yi pinned him against the sofa and attacked him with kisses. “Hahaha! I was joking! Stop, stop! I was wrong, I was wrong! Ow, ow, that hurts!”
After fooling around affectionately for a while, He Chu San finally stood up with red marks all over his face and his clothes in disarray, then went into the kitchen to reheat the food. The entire feast had gone cold, and he had no idea how long Xia Liu Yi had been sitting at home waiting for him. As his fingers touched the icy underside of a plate, that trace of cold seemed to stir up the complicated emotions inside him, and he quickly turned his back so Xia Liu Yi would not see the expression on his face.
Xia Liu Yi stood in the kitchen doorway with his arms folded, watching him deftly put a pot on the stove and light the flame. “Elite He, Mr. Busy Man, do you even remember what day it is today?”
He Chu San turned around, looking genuinely confused. “What day?”
Xia Liu Yi muttered a curse and strode forward to pull at his face. He Chu San laughed and dodged backward. “I remember! I remember! April sixteenth—the anniversary of the first time we met, the first time I properly confessed, the first time I moved into this apartment, the first time we rolled around in bed—mmph…”
Xia Liu Yi clapped a hand over his mouth, while He Chu San laughed and pulled a small box out of his trouser pocket.
“What’s this?” Xia Liu Yi glanced at it. “Another paper-thin cake? Another green Buddha?”
“Go outside and open it yourself.” He Chu San pushed him out of the kitchen. “Stop distracting me while I heat the food. We really will start a fire.”
Xia Liu Yi went into the living room wearing an expression of disdain while inwardly bubbling with excitement. He opened the box and found a pair of unusually designed cufflinks. After turning them over and inspecting them from every angle, he decided they looked quite good, so he immediately disappeared into the bedroom and began rummaging through the wardrobe for a shirt to match them.
He spent forever with his backside sticking out of the wardrobe, changing his mind over and over again without emerging. Once He Chu San had finished arranging the reheated food back on the dining table, he raised his voice and called, “Brother Liu Yi, dinner’s ready.”
“Give me a minute!”
He Chu San walked into the bedroom and leaned against the doorframe, laughing. “Stop choosing. Eat first. After dinner, I’ll go out with you and buy a new shirt to match them.”
Xia Liu Yi was looking down as he buttoned his shirt, the lines of his collarbone and chest faintly visible between the fabric. At He Chu San’s words, he raised his head. “What time is it?”
“Not even eight yet. We’ll still have time to shop after dinner. Or we could go see a movie.”
Xia Liu Yi gave up on the final two buttons, walked over, and slapped He Chu San on the backside. “Shopping. We’ll pick out a few things for you too.”
…
The two gay men took their sweet time over their candlelight dinner, then dawdled even longer choosing clothes and putting on shoes. By the time they finally made it out, it was already after nine at night. Only a scattering of shops along the street remained open, their lights sparse and dim. Abandoning their shopping plans, the two of them strolled slowly along Salisbury Road to digest their meal, passing the Peninsula Hotel where they had once eaten Western food together, then the Cultural Centre where they had once watched The Godfather, before continuing west along the waterfront promenade.
There were only scattered groups of visitors in the waterfront park at night. The lights on both sides of Victoria Harbour glittered brilliantly, creating a dazzling view, while beneath the dim streetlamps most of the people walking together were couples holding hands. After walking for a while, Xia Liu Yi reached for He Chu San’s hand in the shadows. He Chu San turned and glanced back at the bodyguards following far behind them.
“Forget them.” Xia Liu Yi tugged him toward himself.
He Chu San smiled, tightened his hand around Xia Liu Yi’s without the slightest attempt to hide it, and suddenly pulled him into a quick run.
“What are you doing?” Xia Liu Yi asked.
“There’s a lookout platform ahead. The view is beautiful.”
“If you want to go to the lookout, then go. Why are you running so fast?”
“I want to get there faster so I can kiss you.”
Xia Liu Yi immediately took one enormous step sideways, dragged him beneath the trees beside the road, pressed him against a trunk, and kissed him fiercely and deeply for a long time before finally letting him go.
“If you want a kiss, then kiss me right away. Since when do kisses need a special location?” Xia Liu Yi said with a laugh.
He Chu San’s lips were wet from the kiss and his breathing had become uneven; his back hurt from being slammed against the tree, and his feet were planted among dead branches and rotting leaves. He wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Forget it—if he wanted Boss Xia to learn anything about romance, he would probably have to wait another ten years!
“No! I want to go to that lookout!” A coquettish voice suddenly rang out nearby, perfectly voicing He Chu San’s own grievance.
Xia Liu Yi and He Chu San turned around and saw a group approaching along the side path. At the front was a curvaceous woman with generous breasts and hips, clinging to the arm of a middle-aged man, and the two groups ended up meeting head-on.
“Twin-Blade Xia?” the middle-aged man asked suspiciously.
Xia Liu Yi instinctively stepped in front of He Chu San. “Master Qiao.”
He glanced at the woman posing coquettishly beside Master Qiao and realized that she was another old acquaintance—Third Sister Lai, Fat Seven’s former mistress.
That slut even managed to climb into this old bastard’s bed.
Master Qiao was equally suspicious as he studied Xia Liu Yi and the young man half-hidden behind him. Though he was getting on in years, his eyesight was still excellent, and from a distance he had clearly seen those two practically tangled together.
Little bastard Xia Liu Yi really is keeping himself a pretty boy? Master Qiao wondered.
Naturally, Master Qiao chose exactly the sore spot he should not have touched. Pointing at He Chu San, he pretended ignorance and asked, “And this is?”
Xia Liu Yi’s heart tightened. He had been about to invent some excuse, but He Chu San instead stepped forward out of the shadows, openly revealing himself as he smiled. “Master Qiao, have you forgotten me?”
“Oh! So it’s Adviser He!” Master Qiao put on an exaggeratedly astonished expression, then looked He Chu San up and down and began cackling strangely.
“You have a good memory, Master Qiao,” He Chu San replied politely. “Out for a walk?”
“You two as well?”
“We are.”
Master Qiao cackled again. “Hahaha! I won’t disturb the two of you enjoying your ‘pleasure’! Twin-Blade Xia, another day?”
“Another day,” Xia Liu Yi said.
Master Qiao laughed strangely as he wrapped an arm around Third Sister Lai’s slender waist and walked away, even turning back once to glance at Xia Liu Yi and He Chu San. Xia Liu Yi’s expression had gone slightly cold, while He Chu San merely returned the look with a pleasant, springlike smile.
Once Master Qiao’s group had gone some distance, Xia Liu Yi seized He Chu San’s hand and quickly dragged him back the way they had come.
“Brother Liu Yi?” He Chu San asked, confused.
“We’re going home.” Xia Liu Yi forced down his agitation.
“I still want to walk a little longer…”
“We’re going home!” Xia Liu Yi snapped impatiently.
As he walked, he made a gesture toward the bodyguards behind them, then pulled He Chu San along a side path and out of the waterfront park. The bodyguards drove around to wait on the street outside and took them directly home. Sitting in the back seat, Xia Liu Yi turned irritably toward He Chu San. “Why did you talk to him just now?! Have you forgotten what he did to you?!”
“I thought he was going to recognize me anyway. Instead of hiding it, I might as well have been open—”
“You’re not allowed to do that again!” Xia Liu Yi interrupted anxiously. The moment he remembered Master Qiao’s sinister smile, a chill passed through his heart. All the brotherly harmony between him and Master Qiao was an act; beneath it lay nothing except mutual interests and old grudges. Master Qiao had once kidnapped He Chu San, and Xia Liu Yi had smashed up Master Qiao’s establishment because of it. At such a sensitive time, having Master Qiao witness how intimate he and He Chu San were and thereby confirming their relationship filled Xia Liu Yi with dread.
“I shouldn’t have brought you out tonight…” Xia Liu Yi murmured regretfully, shaking his head.
He Chu San took his hand and called to him gently, “Brother Liu Yi, listen to me. Don’t worry. I can protect myself.”
“How exactly are you going to protect yourself?!” Xia Liu Yi raised his voice, only for He Chu San to pull him into his arms and kiss his forehead, causing the last word to come out strangely under that sudden warmth.
“Trust me a little more.” He Chu San smiled. “I’m not as weak as you think. Don’t worry.”
…
Xia Liu Yi still could not stop worrying. He Chu San did not know about his arrangement with Master Qiao or how precarious their supposed cooperation truly was. Without Golden Maitreya, Xia Liu Yi was no longer “taking shipments,” which meant there was very little left with which he could keep Master Qiao interested. For now, he was deceiving Master Qiao by claiming that he still had other connections in Thailand, coaxing him into continuing to pass messages to the Old Shopkeeper. It would not be long before Master Qiao noticed something was wrong, and Xia Liu Yi had to expose the undercover agent and get close to the Old Shopkeeper before that happened. If Master Qiao saw through him too soon, if Master Qiao went after He Chu San again and decided to settle both old and new scores at once…
Filled with anxiety, he hurried He Chu San home, shut and locked the door behind them, and almost wished he could swallow He Chu San whole so that no one else would ever have the chance to touch him.
He dragged He Chu San into the bathroom and kissed him frantically amid the sudden rush of steam, tearing at his clothes. He Chu San said nothing and simply yielded to him, allowing his coat to be yanked carelessly onto the floor, his shirt dragged down over his shoulders, and his throat and shoulders bitten by Xia Liu Yi as though a tiger were tearing into its prey, until the pain finally forced a low cry from him.
Xia Liu Yi stopped and stared blankly at the teeth marks he had left on He Chu San’s shoulder, the pale skin darkening to a blood-deep red. At last realizing how badly he had lost control, he reached over and turned off the shower, released He Chu San, and leaned against the wall in frustration.
He Chu San turned around and covered him instead, reversing their positions. He kissed Xia Liu Yi gently and stroked his temples and cheeks, as though soothing a huge cat with its fur standing on end, its back arched and claws bared.
Wrapped in that warmth, Xia Liu Yi looked into He Chu San’s eyes and finally spoke in a low voice.
“I’m doing something dangerous. It has to do with Master Qiao. I’m afraid you’ll get dragged into it…”
He Chu San watched him intently, waiting for him to continue.
“I can’t tell you what it is,” Xia Liu Yi said instead, his expression strained, anxious, and conflicted. “It isn’t because I don’t trust you. I just don’t want to lose you. The more you know, the more dangerous it becomes for you…”
He Chu San looked at him and asked gently, “Do you have to do it?”
“I do. I do. I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” Xia Liu Yi repeated painfully. He was being tormented by his obsession with revenge on one side and his guilt and fear for He Chu San on the other. He did not want to keep lying to He Chu San or hiding things from him—he truly did not—but he had no other choice. Lately, his dreams alternated between a smiling He Chu San and Azure Dragon covered in blood. Revenge and a new life: he did not know how to have both.
He Chu San sighed inwardly. He had long since understood Xia Liu Yi’s nature—he would never turn back until he smashed headfirst into the wall. This was merely one more confirmation. Xia Liu Yi refused to tell him the truth, but wasn’t He Chu San doing exactly the same thing? If He Chu San told Xia Liu Yi what he planned to do next, Xia Liu Yi would stop him in every possible way and would never agree.
“All right, all right, don’t say any more.” He Chu San stroked his tightly furrowed brow and soothed him. “There’s nothing to apologize for. I don’t blame you. You have your difficulties and your limitations. I didn’t understand that before, so I pushed you too hard. That was my fault.”
“Let the bodyguards follow you again, all right?” Xia Liu Yi asked anxiously. “I’m really not asking them to monitor you. I’m afraid someone will come after you. Master Qiao, that old bastard, that shit-eating dog—sooner or later I’m going to—”
“All right, all right.” He Chu San kissed him lightly, cutting off the curse. “How about this? I really am short-handed right now. Tiger Head has a man named Kevin. He’s clever and can fight. Transfer him to me and let him bring a few men to follow me every day. All right?”
Xia Liu Yi snorted. “How can some random kid be trustworthy? I’ll transfer A’Nan to you.”
He Chu San kissed his faintly pouting lips again. “It’s fine. Kevin is reliable. He also grew up poor in the Walled City. I met him once before and helped him with something.”
“When?”
“A long time ago, before I met you.”
Xia Liu Yi grew even more suspicious. “What kind of kid is he? You knew him before you knew me? What did you help him with? Don’t tell me the brat was so grateful he wanted to repay you with his body.”
He Chu San sniffed around exaggeratedly. “Strange. Why do I suddenly smell vinegar?”
Xia Liu Yi pinched the tip of his nose. He Chu San laughed and pressed close, kissing and licking at him affectionately until Xia Liu Yi’s ruffled fur finally lay flat. Xia Liu Yi muttered, “Fine. Pick whoever you want. I’ll have him come accompany you to work tomorrow.”