With a sweep of his broad hand, Master Qiao shoved the door open. The wooden door struck the doorstop with a dull thud. The bodyguards stationed outside, all He Chu San’s men, looked at him awkwardly, not daring to stop him or utter a word. Leaning on his cane, he stuck his head inside and looked around—the living room of the luxurious suite was completely empty. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows opposite him, scattered lights dotted the beach, while the ink-blue sea merged into the night sky. He walked several steps inside and looked around. The furnishings were elegant and orderly, except that a few articles of clothing had been tossed messily over one corner of the European-style sofa, and two pairs of men’s shoes sat on the floor.
Two pairs.
Master Qiao turned and gave his adviser a strange look. The adviser wore an expression that plainly said, “Something’s fishy in there!” Master Qiao flicked his cane and strode farther inside, first checking the nearby balcony before turning into the bedroom. Both were empty.
The faint sound of splashing water came from the bathroom beside the bedroom. His eyes shifted. He raised his cane and used the tip to gently push open the half-closed bathroom door.
He Chu San was sitting alone in the enormous bathtub with his back to him, and the splashing came from the massage jets churning the water. Hearing footsteps behind him, He Chu San turned around with some difficulty, surprise appearing on his face. “Brother Qiao?”
“Why are you here?” He hurriedly stood and grabbed a bath towel from beside the tub. Instead of covering himself below the waist, he hastily draped it over his upper body. But Master Qiao had already seen the fresh bite marks on his neck and the faint scratches across his back. Add He Chu San’s flushed face and damp eyes, looking very much like a man who had just had one hell of a good time—and what man wouldn’t understand?
“Brother He, you… what is this?” Master Qiao looked at him strangely.
“I’ve been lying in bed too long and my circulation isn’t good. The doctor told me to soak in the bath more often,” He Chu San said awkwardly.
“You’re quite playful, Brother He. You’ve splashed water all over the place.” Master Qiao tapped the water stains beside the tub with his cane and smiled oddly.
“Th-this is… Ahem. I did get a little carried away.” He Chu San laughed awkwardly. “Did you come looking for me this late because something happened, Brother Qiao? Is there a problem with the accounts?”
“No, not a single problem. You did beautifully, Brother He. I had nothing else to do tonight, so I came to see you. Seems like you’ve been having quite a good time since transferring here.” As he spoke, Master Qiao looked around and noticed a trail of water leading toward the changing room beside them. A curtain concealed the entrance. He gave a knowing little laugh. “Come, come, don’t catch cold. I’ll get you a bathrobe…”
“Brother Qiao! There’s no need!” He Chu San hurried after him, trying to stop him. But the adviser stepped sideways and blocked He Chu San’s path. He Chu San watched in alarm as Master Qiao yanked open the changing-room curtain!
Kevin was huddled inside with a terrified expression, wearing a blue bathrobe—the very same one Master Qiao had previously seen on He Chu San. His face was bright red, his entire body soaking wet, water still dripping from his hair, and several fresh red marks were visible at the open collar of the robe. The instant the curtain flew open, he panicked and covered his face, then hurriedly pulled the robe closed around himself.
Master Qiao and the adviser stared with eyes as wide as oxen’s. Kevin lowered his head in embarrassment and fear. He Chu San quickly stepped forward and blocked Kevin from view. “Ahem, Brother Qiao, about this… Ah, about this… Don’t blame K-zai. It was me. I… I’ve been hospitalized too long. Men have normal needs…”
Master Qiao stared at He Chu San with a peculiar expression. Best Actor He’s forehead was covered in what might have been water or sweat as he stared nervously back. Master Qiao’s eyes suddenly narrowed. His face relaxed, and he burst out laughing. “Hahahaha!”
He slapped He Chu San’s bare shoulder hard enough to make a series of smacks. “Hahaha! Brother He! You really know how to live! Looking after your health without forgetting to enjoy yourself, hahaha! Kevin, you’re certainly a devoted personal assistant too! Hahahaha!”
“Brother Qiao, I-I wasn’t…” He Chu San tried awkwardly to explain, but Master Qiao cut him off with another hearty slap on the shoulder. “It’s fine! Brother He, I understand! It’s your big brother’s fault for barging in without warning and interrupting your good time! Hahaha! I’m leaving now. I’ll come see you again in a few days.”
…
Master Qiao left with his adviser, laughing the entire way. As he walked, his laughter kept turning into coughing fits, and his cane struck the floor with loud clacks. The adviser followed beside him, wearing a complicated expression somewhere between amusement and helplessness.
Master Qiao climbed into the car first. Once the adviser sat down beside him, Master Qiao hooked an arm around his neck and rasped delightedly, “Adviser, oh, Adviser! My old darling! You saw it, didn’t you? Feeling reassured now? You said he wanted to stir up trouble? Become a Boss? Does he have what it takes to be a Boss? He’s holed up in a love nest screwing his little assistant! Hahahaha! No wonder he couldn’t bear to kill Xia Liu Yi back then. He really couldn’t bear to give up that ass—he wanted to fuck it a few more rounds! Hahahaha!”
The adviser made one last attempt. “But Kevin is someone you planted beside him to keep watch. Now the two of them are fooling around together. That can’t be good…”
“He’s only one pair of eyes. If you’re worried, plant a few more. Besides, Kevin has taken my money, and he has an elderly mother at home. For the sake of keeping his mother alive, he won’t dare do anything stupid. You just keep a close eye on the books He Chu San handles. If there’s nothing wrong with the books, there’s nothing wrong with anything else.” Master Qiao gave him a reassuring slap on the back, then started laughing again. “Hey, Adviser, have you ever tried men? Is it really that much fun? How about the two of us go find a rent-boy joint tonight and see for ourselves?”
“…”
Elio’s Notes: 鸭窦 is Hong Kong/Cantonese slang for a venue where male sex workers take clients. 鸭, literally “duck,” is slang for a male sex worker.
…
As for Master Qiao taking his adviser to a rent-boy joint to “experience life,” we shall leave that aside for now. Back in the changing room, Xia Liu Yi jumped out of the wardrobe with a towel wrapped around his waist. Three grown men, all barely clothed, were now squeezed into the tiny changing room. The atmosphere was unbearably awkward.
“Ahem. Kevin, thank you,” He Chu San said.
Kevin kept his head lowered and carefully turned his gaze away from their bodies. He had known since adolescence that he was gay, and his sexual awakening had come quite early. Being crammed into one room with two handsome, bare-chested men still radiating the heady hormonal atmosphere of what had just happened—one of whom happened to be the man he secretly liked—was almost more than his poor life could take.
His mind was full of the blood-rushing scene he had seen when he barged in earlier. If I didn’t see wrong, Brother Chu San might have been sitting underneath, but he… he was actually the top??? He fucked that famous Blood Asura Boss until his whole body was flushed red, his head thrown back while he moaned! Boss Xia is covered in hickeys now, and even his little nipples are swollen!
His vision swam and heat rushed to his head. He instinctively covered his nose, bent over, and hurriedly scooped up the clothes he had stripped off and tossed into the corner earlier, clutching them against his front to conceal his reaction. “Ahem, it was nothing. I didn’t expect Master Qiao to suddenly show up. My people only spotted his car when it reached the hospital entrance. It was my failure.”
“It wasn’t your fault. It’s thanks to you rushing in to help that we got away with it,” He Chu San reassured him.
“Th-then, Brother Chu San, Mr. Xia, I’ll go outside.” Kevin stammered. “You two… Master Qiao, he…”
Kevin was naturally a worrier. He had wanted to tell them that Master Qiao might become more cautious and add even more surveillance, so it would probably be best if they stopped “exercising” in the sanatorium room from now on. But after thinking about it, he knew Brother Chu San could not possibly have overlooked something so obvious. It was better to shut up and escape. He waved hurriedly, clutched his clothes around himself, and fled for his life.
From behind, Xia Liu Yi and He Chu San could see that even the roots of Kevin’s ears had turned purplish-red. Not long afterward came the sound of the outer door slamming shut with a bang.
“…” “…”
The couple stood stiffly where they were. Never in their lives had they experienced anything so awkward. It was so awkward that they had forgotten even how to feel ashamed.
After standing there blankly for a long time, Xia Liu Yi finally spoke in a disgruntled voice. “How old is he?”
“Twenty-one, twenty-two.”
“He’s gay?”
“I… I think so.”
“His face was that red because of you?”
“N-no, probably not. He was just embarrassed.”
“Can he keep his mouth shut?”
“He can, he can. He didn’t see anything. Don’t kill him to silence him.”
“…Maybe I should kill you to silence you first.”
“Hah… don’t… that tickles…”
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