The adviser hurried forward and caught the staggering He Chu San. Two bodyguards hidden among the crowd rushed over and seized Lu Guang Ming from either side. Lu Guang Ming struggled, shaking wine from his head as his stylish swept-back hair turned into a bird’s nest after a rainstorm.
“What happened?!” the adviser shouted at Kevin, who was forcing his way through the crowd. “Where did you run off to? You let just anyone get near Mr. He?!”
Kevin, who had been responsible for secretly keeping tabs on Master Qiao, apologized repeatedly and hurried to check Mr. He’s injuries.
“He isn’t ‘just anybody.’ He’s the eldest young master of Tang Family Winery!” Miss Fang cut in. Faced with two battle-damaged handsome men, her maternal instincts surged. After weighing the matter for half a second, she ultimately gave her handkerchief to the more mature Mr. He. “Mr. He, your face is bleeding. Hurry and wipe it. And Young Master Tang, really, this is a civilized society. Whatever misunderstanding you have, why resort to violence?”
He Chu San accepted the handkerchief and thanked her, then said with anger held tightly in check, “You’ve all been deceived. He isn’t Young Master Tang. He’s some poor brat who slipped in to eat and drink for free.”
“You’re the fucking poor brat!” Lu Guang Ming’s arms were pinned by the bodyguards, but his two long legs were still jumping and kicking as he tried to reach him.
Master Qiao also squeezed through the crowd with a glass of wine in hand. The first thing he heard was that this was a fake young master, and then he saw that the impostor had actually injured his precious Mr. He’s face. Cute or not, that was intolerable! He immediately flew into a rage and revealed his full underworld nature. “Where did this bastard come from?! Beat him up and drag him outside!”
“Beat him?!” Miss Fang shrieked.
The surrounding guests also began murmuring. The adviser coughed and whispered to Master Qiao, “Boss, don’t start beating people in front of all these guests. Just call the police and have him arrested and removed.”
“Are you crazy? Why call the police?!” Master Qiao stared at him in astonishment. The adviser yanked hard on his sleeve, and only then did Master Qiao remember that he was no longer an underworld Boss but a respectable citizen. “Ahem, ahem… Why haven’t you called the police yet?! Report, report him for… picking quarrels and provoking trouble! Intentional assault!” They were charges he had heard often enough in the old days that they rolled smoothly off his tongue.
Hotel security arrived quickly. Together with the bodyguards, they hauled the cursing fake Young Master Tang outside to wait for the police. Master Qiao told Kevin to quickly take Mr. He to the lounge and treat the injury, then reassured the guests. The small disturbance soon came to an end. Everyone dispersed. Only Miss Fang remained where she was, holding the faintly bloodstained, fragrant handkerchief and lingering in sentimental reverie. The adviser stood where He Chu San had just been and examined the wineglass He Chu San had used to splash Lu Guang Ming…
In the reflection of the glass, he saw Miss Fang behind him, exactly the direction from which he himself had just approached.
He turned and walked toward Miss Fang. “Miss? Excuse me… what exactly did that fake Young Master Tang say to you just now?”
…
Toward evening, a sedan with a license plate ending in 61 stopped outside a small police station. Xie Jia Hua did not even bother locking the car before hurrying inside and showing his credentials.
The officer leading him had worked with him on several cases before. As he opened the temporary holding cell, he said, “No identification. He won’t even give us his full name. Just says he’s called A’Ming and knows you.”
“Sorry. He’s my informant. Thank you, thank you.” Xie Jia Hua forced an awkward smile as he offered polite explanations, never in his life having experienced such an embarrassing moment of using his authority for personal reasons. The door opened. Lu Guang Ming was lounging beside several gangsters being held for fighting and was even chatting casually with them. The suit on his body, now filthy and torn into a complete mess, still belonged to Xie Jia Hua.
“…” I really want to strip his pants off right here and spank him.
Xie Jia Hua restrained himself again and again. In front of his colleague, he tried to sound as pleasant as possible. “A’Ming, come out.”
Lu Guang Ming looked up at him, somehow appearing even more impatient than Xie Jia Hua. He dragged himself to his feet and followed him outside, asking quietly as they walked, “I didn’t get a criminal record from this, right?”
“They don’t even know your name. How could they put anything on your record?”
Lu Guang Ming relaxed slightly but still gave him no pleasant expression. When they reached the car, Xie Jia Hua opened the passenger door and tried to push him inside. With both hands in his pockets, Lu Guang Ming nimbly dodged aside.
“What are you doing?”
“I’ll go myself.”
“Where are you going?”
“None of your business.”
“You’re still wearing my clothes.”
“Inspector Xie, you’re already this old. Why are you so petty?”
“…” Inspector Xie.
Inspector Xie ended this extraordinarily childish argument with a dark face, grabbed his own clothing without further discussion, and forcibly shoved Lu Guang Ming into the car. Lu Guang Ming clung to the door and resisted while cursing. “I’m not going with you! I’m going to the ICAC!”
Xie Jia Hua exerted some strength and shoved him inside. “I’ll take you there!”
“Why are you so violent?!”
“Why are you so annoying?! Shut up!”
…
It was evening rush hour, and the sedan moved through streams of traffic under flashing neon lights. Lu Guang Ming slumped against the seat without speaking and looked genuinely furious. Keeping his eyes on the road, Xie Jia Hua tried to reason with him. “What I said this morning… I wasn’t contradicting you. I only said I don’t remember Jia Qi ever coming to my home. Maybe I remembered wrong. I hadn’t even finished speaking before you reacted that strongly. I’ll verify it. I’ll find out where Jia Qi got that photograph and how. What was in the photograph you saw?”
“…”
“If you don’t want to say, forget it. I won’t force you. From now on, I’ll believe what you tell me. Whatever you tell me, I’ll investigate. But you also have to give me room to respond. Don’t immediately assume the worst every time. Every time the two of us meet, we start arguing. Can’t we talk properly?”
“…”
Xie Jia Hua felt he had been sufficiently patient, but after waiting so long without receiving a response, he could not help turning his head to look at Lu Guang Ming. “Say something.”
“Didn’t you tell me to shut up?”
“…”
“And you said I was annoying.”
“…”
“Is it my fault we argue every time we meet? When have you ever patiently listened to me? Wasn’t I always the one coaxing you before? You’re really something. You fuck me and hit me too.”
“…”
Ever since I fucked you, when have I ever hit you??? Xie Jia Hua took a deep breath and said aggrievedly, “I was wrong too. I’m sorry.”
It was rare for Lu Guang Ming to hear him surrender. He lifted his eyelids and glanced at him, then turned to look out the window, the corners of his mouth rising slightly. After a while, he abruptly said without context, “I’ll wash and iron your clothes before I return them.”
Xie Jia Hua did not care about the clothes. “What were you doing this afternoon? How did you end up looking like this?”
“None of your business.”
“…” Maybe I really should just spank him.
The car stopped below the ICAC offices. Lu Guang Ming sat up to get out, but Xie Jia Hua pulled him back. He pressed Lu Guang Ming into the seat and smoothed his hair, which looked like a pile of straw.
Lu Guang Ming lowered his head and let Xie Jia Hua smooth his hair, then abruptly said something else without preamble. “I lied to you before because I wanted to get information out of you. I stopped at nothing, and I’m sorry. Your identity is too sensitive. I never should have dragged you into this in the first place. I’ll handle this case myself from now on. There are many things I can’t tell you because they’re covered by ICAC confidentiality rules.”
Xie Jia Hua peeled off the filthy suit jacket, removed his own clean coat, and draped it over Lu Guang Ming’s shoulders. “I know. But anything I find that isn’t covered by police confidentiality, I’ll tell you. I still believe my father hasn’t committed any crimes, but I’ll do my best to investigate every single thing you mention. All right. Go inside.”
Lu Guang Ming obediently got out with his eyes lowered. He walked several steps in thought, then turned back and tapped on the car window.
Xie Jia Hua rolled it down. Lu Guang Ming leaned against the window and stuck his head inside, asking with an utterly serious expression, “Did I top you last night? Is that why you’re suddenly being so nice to me?”
“Shut up. Get inside.”
…
Late that night, in He Chu San’s bedroom, He Chu San sat on the edge of the bed in a robe while Kevin, still fully dressed, crouched on the floor and carefully applied medicine to the wound on his face.
“What is it?” He Chu San asked when he saw Kevin frowning.
“That rotten brat hit way too hard,” Kevin said indignantly. “Is this going to scar? Could it ruin your face?”
He Chu San glanced toward the location of the listening device, lightly patted Kevin’s arm, and smoothly played along. “Feeling sorry for me?”
“Of course I am.”
He Chu San let out a low, seductive laugh, kissed his own arm once, and shifted his backside to the side. Kevin followed him onto the bed, and the two began putting on an elaborate show, making the bedframe creak and shake. Just as their performance reached a magnificent crescendo amid alternating noises, a knock suddenly came from outside. One of the bodyguards raised his voice. “Mr. He! Master Qiao is here!”
“…” “…”
So nobody had been listening at all. He had come straight to the door…
Kevin, irritated after acting for nothing, rolled his eyes. He Chu San moved rapidly to strip off Kevin’s clothes and mouthed, “Quick! Strip! Change!”
The two rustled around in the bedroom for quite some time before Kevin finally threw on a robe and rushed out to open the door.
“Oh!” The adviser, leading the way, was nearly blinded by the large expanse of Kevin’s bare chest. He turned his face away in disgust. “Why are you two messing around every single night?!”
“He got beaten today. Of course I had to comfort him,” Kevin said softly and aggrievedly. Then he saw Master Qiao standing behind the adviser and giving him a thumbs-up. “Master Qiao! You’re here! Go to the study first. Mr. He is changing and will be there in a moment.”
“No need, no need. He doesn’t have to change.” Master Qiao had found Kevin much more pleasing to the eye these past few days. He might be a slightly restless little seducer, but he was taking such good care of Master Qiao’s precious Mr. He. How considerate! “Tell him to hurry over. I have good news for him. Adviser, you wait outside.”
The adviser was unexpectedly shut out and had no choice but to wait outside, full of grievance.
…
There were two computers in the study, surrounded by towering piles of documents and books. Master Qiao paced around on his cane, looking here and poking there, currently attempting to find the computer’s power button. He Chu San hurried in while pulling his arms through the sleeves of his coat. “Brother Qiao! Why didn’t you say you were coming? K-zai, pour Brother Qiao some tea.”
“No need, no need. I’ll say what I came to say and leave.” Master Qiao waved amiably. “Send K-zai out.”
He Chu San sent Kevin away and locked the study door. “What good news does Brother Qiao have?”
Standing beside the desk, Master Qiao beckoned him closer with an intentionally mysterious expression. He Chu San quickly stepped over. Smiling, Master Qiao brought his foul-breathed mouth close to He Chu San’s ear.
“Congratulations, Brother He. The Old Shopkeeper wants to see you.”