There was a small night market near the construction site. It stretched no more than three hundred meters along the street, yet offered just about everything—food, clothing, and entertainment alike.
Hot oil hit the beef-offal noodles with a sizzle, releasing a rich, savory aroma. Zhang Chi snapped apart a pair of disposable chopsticks, rubbed them together to scrape off the splinters, then squatted down and lifted a mouthful of noodles.
He ate intently and rarely paid attention to the commotion around him. Only when he stopped to drink water would he spare some attention for the show, his gaze drifting lightly toward the table in the corner each time before returning to his bowl.
After finishing his noodles and paying, he wandered leisurely through the night market, stopping here and there to look over the dazzling assortment of little trinkets. At some point, though, he forgot which stall he had left his water bottle at. He hurried back to find it and came face-to-face with the three men who had been trailing several meters behind him. Preoccupied with finding his bottle, Zhang Chi merely swept them a cursory glance and failed to notice the sudden shock and panic in their eyes.
After retrieving his bottle, Zhang Chi stood in front of a bank with it in hand. It was the only bank within several kilometers and had an ATM available twenty-four hours a day.
He pushed open the door to the individual ATM booth but did not walk toward the machine. Beside the door stood a pink metal box printed with the words: “Free Condom Dispenser.”
Zhang Chi took out his ID card and tapped it against the designated area. With a beep, a box dropped into the collection tray.
The condoms could only be collected once a month, five to a box. Zhang Chi had not been at the construction site for long and had only collected one box before. He had used all of them on the man he had brought back from Bar Street some time ago.
It was not because he had some extraordinary stamina. The first one slipped from his hand after he tore open the wrapper and fell to the floor. The second felt uncomfortable once he put it on, and the third was no better. It was not until the fourth that he realized the size was too small and did not fit him.
They awkwardly made do and did it twice. The man he had brought back cursed him viciously the entire time, inventing one new insult after another. As they did it, Zhang Chi kept wondering what had possessed him to bring the man home in the first place.
The night breeze had been slightly cool. Following advice he had found online, Zhang Chi located a gay bar in the city. He stood outside for a moment, surveyed the surrounding terrain, then, out of habit, checked the location of the bar’s back door.
When he turned into the narrow alley beside it, the light quickly dimmed. The glow from the street could not reach very far inside. At first, a long shadow still stretched ahead of him; farther in, it became so dark that even his shadow disappeared.
Someone was there.
Even though he could barely see, Zhang Chi keenly sensed a person ahead. He slowed his steps but continued forward.
It was a drunk man, sitting on the ground with his back against the wall and his head hanging low. He looked very thin, a narrow figure that took up hardly any space.
The alley was not wide. Zhang Chi stepped over the man’s feet, located the back door, then turned around and headed out again. As he stepped over him a second time, an icy hand suddenly pressed against the outside of his thigh.
Fingers twisted into his pants, and the drunken man caught hold of him.
“Take me away.” The man’s voice was weak.
Zhang Chi hesitated. “I have something else to do.”
He answered mildly, lifting his strong leg free of the man’s grip. “Find someone else to help you.”
But the next moment, the drunk wrapped both hands around his long leg again. His grip cinched tightly around the sensitive flesh high on Zhang Chi’s inner thigh. Zhang Chi stiffened and bit the inside of his cheek.
“Take me away. I’m begging you.”
His inner thigh burned where the man held him. Zhang Chi reached down to push those hands away, only to have his own hand caught instead.
“I’ll give you whatever you want.” The drunk man’s voice trembled slightly.
The fine lines of the man’s palm distracted Zhang Chi for a moment. Wanting to get rid of this troublesome man as quickly as possible, he simply told the truth. “I came here looking for someone to sleep with.”
“Fine.” The man answered without a second thought, then raised his head and assured him again, “I can do it.”
“You’re out here… selling?”
The soft, drawn-out “Mm” sent a ripple through Zhang Chi’s heart.
He slowly crouched in front of the man, slipped a hand beneath the hem of his shirt, and touched the warm strip of waist underneath.
It was slim and narrow yet firm, the skin smooth beneath his palm. As Zhang Chi leaned slightly closer, the scent of perfume drifted into his nose. “My place is a little far away, and it’s nothing fancy.”
His hand tightened, rubbing enough heat into the skin beneath it. “Is that okay?”
The man made a few muffled sounds, then abruptly grabbed Zhang Chi by the collar and pitched forward, resting his chin on Zhang Chi’s shoulder with a catlike ferocity. “Quit fucking yapping and take me away.”
Later, Zhang Chi did regret it somewhat. It was his first time, and while he was not expecting some celestial beauty, he had at least hoped for someone decent-looking. But the man he brought out of the alley had bruises covering most of his face. All Zhang Chi could tell was that his skin was quite fair, his jaw narrow, and his eyelashes thick. Beyond that, who the hell knew what he actually looked like?
He spent the entire trip wondering whether he should just dump the man somewhere and forget about it. In the end, though, that wretched doglike instinct to piss on something and claim it as his territory won out. Zhang Chi gritted his teeth, shut his eyes, and accepted his fate.
Fortunately, the man had a great ass—firm, perky, and round.
Zhang Chi pulled himself out of the memory, slipped the condoms into his pocket, and pushed open the bank door. His sharp gaze swept toward the shadows beneath the roadside trees before he finally started walking toward the construction site.
Beyond the night market lay a deserted stretch of road. The moon was half-veiled, the wind had died down, and the trees stood silent.
A soft rustle of footsteps came from behind him. Zhang Chi snapped his arm downward, and a switchblade dropped suddenly into his hand…
Night wind rushed through the villa’s open windows, curling wildly around the nearly naked man and ruthlessly stripping away what little warmth remained on his skin.
His hands were bound behind his back. Wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, he had been forced to kneel halfway on the floor. His head was lowered, his gaze quietly sweeping his surroundings, though his expression remained relatively calm.
Suddenly, the villa door flew open. A cold gust swept in first, creating a crosswind with the open windows. The weighted ends of the curtains clattered together, and goosebumps rose across the nearly naked man’s skin.
A tall, slender man entered, followed by two ill-looking lackeys.
“Caught him?” Hatred colored his voice. He strode straight toward the kneeling man and kicked him hard enough to send him sprawling.
“You fucking homo. I told you I’d kill you sooner or later!”
The man on the floor was large, broad-shouldered and thick-backed, with solid muscle. Even bound, he did not look particularly disadvantaged. The ropes pulled tight around him, making the muscles of his chest stand out and lending him a certain brutal beauty.
He raised his head and looked up at the furious man looming over him. A trace of confusion appeared in his eyes. “…You’re Two Hundred?”
Two. Hundred.
Xue Bao Tian instantly remembered the two hundred yuan slapped beside his face and that line: I can’t give you any more. You’re not good-looking enough.
“You motherfucker! You really don’t want to live, do you?!”
Xue Bao Tian kicked at him again, his heavy boot swinging high for what should have been a vicious blow. But the half-prone man nimbly pulled back, leaving Xue Bao Tian to stomp down on empty air and nearly stumble.
He had used too much force. When the sole of his boot hit the floor, the impact numbed half his leg. Limping with fury, Xue Bao Tian pointed at the black-clad bodyguards standing beside the man. “What the fuck did I hire you for? Are you all here to eat shit?! Hold him down!”
Several men immediately swarmed Zhang Chi and restrained him. With nowhere left to dodge, he took more than a dozen solid kicks from Xue Bao Tian.
After the indiscriminate beating, Zhang Chi spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. He looked up at the sinister-faced, panting Xue Bao Tian and, astonishingly, began reasoning with him in an even tone. “What happened last time wasn’t entirely my fault. Besides, I already apologized, and I gave you money. You were the one who refused it.”
The mention of money infuriated Xue Bao Tian all over again. Cursing under his breath, he began looking around for something convenient to use as a weapon.
Zhang Chi had no desire to suffer another beating either, so he hurriedly defended himself. “And all those injuries from whoever beat you up—I was the one who put medicine on them. I treated the injury in back too. Didn’t we agree to put this behind us? Why are you settling accounts after the fact?”
Xue Bao Tian ground his teeth so hard they nearly cracked. That evening half a month ago, he had first been beaten senseless for no reason, then picked up and taken back to this man’s place. Afterward, the bastard would not even let him curse, threatening to fuck him again for every “fuck” that came out of his mouth. Xue Bao Tian had been holding everything in like a balloon on the verge of bursting, yet his whole body hurt so badly that he could barely move.
The man left for a while midway through, then came back with two tubes of ointment and several packets of instant noodles. He cooked the noodles on a little electric hot plate while applying medicine to Xue Bao Tian’s bruises.
Xue Bao Tian had been pampered into having soft, delicate skin. The ointment was cool and temporarily eased the pain, so although he wanted to resist, he did not put up much of a fight and, after a bit of pushing and shoving, grudgingly let the man continue.
“The fucking worst pain is in the back! Are you a fucking donkey? Couldn’t you size up that thing of yours before you… did that? In ancient times, if I reported you to the authorities, they’d have castrated you. These days they ought to chemically castrate you!”
“You still want to call the police?” The man’s hand stopped at the back of Xue Bao Tian’s neck, resting there lightly—not too hard, not too soft, but enough to make him nervous.
Xue Bao Tian opened his mouth several times, but in the end he chickened out. A wise man knows better than to fight when the odds are against him. Just wait—I’ll fucking destroy you later!
The sound of a cap being twisted open came from behind him. The man seemed to have switched ointments. A cool sensation touched him from behind, and Xue Bao Tian jolted violently, his entire back going rigid!
“What are you doing?” His voice changed pitch. With considerable effort, he twisted his head around and asked shakily.
“Putting medicine on you. Didn’t you say it hurt?”
“I’ll fucking do it myself! No—no, I’m not putting anything on. Get that away from me!”
The man apparently decided he was just being difficult, withdrew his hand, and ignored him. He crouched beside the little stove and concentrated on cooking the noodles instead.
Xue Bao Tian called one of his trusted men and told him to come pick him up. By the time he hung up, the noodles were ready, and the young man was sitting on a little stool with his head lowered as he ate.
The aroma of noodles filled the cramped room.
Xue Bao Tian’s stomach growled, then cramped painfully. He had filled himself with alcohol, gotten beaten and fucked, and by now his stomach was completely empty. He desperately wanted something hot to eat.
“Want a bowl?” the man asked without even raising his head.
“Who the fuck eats that garbage?” Xue Bao Tian turned his face away resentfully.
Five minutes later, surrounded by the smell of noodles, he turned back again. “That… I’ll just have some broth.”
That memory was the one Xue Bao Tian most wanted erased from existence—cowardly and pathetic from beginning to end. Countless times, waking in the middle of the night, he had regretted it so much that he wanted to slap himself across the face.
He made a circuit of the villa and found a glass ashtray. Hooking it over his fingertips, he sauntered back to Zhang Chi and slowly crouched in front of him.
Zhang Chi raised his eyes and studied Xue Bao Tian carefully before saying, “So this is what you actually look like.”
Remembering how bruised and swollen his face had been half a month earlier, Xue Bao Tian immediately flared up. “Fuck you! I fucking—”
“Let’s talk business first,” Zhang Chi cut in. “Less swearing.”
Xue Bao Tian forced down his temper and ground out through clenched teeth, “Fine, Zhang Chi. We’ll do it your way and settle this first.” He lightly smacked the glass ashtray against Zhang Chi’s cheek. “I’m a normal man, and you, a fucking homo, did that to me… So tell me, how are we settling this score?”
Zhang Chi had a young face and handsome features, boyish yet unmistakably masculine. After thinking for a moment, he answered with surprising sincerity, “I’m gay, so I can’t really judge how much something like this would hurt you. If you genuinely can’t get past it, then beat me as much as you want.”
“Beat you?” Xue Bao Tian gave a vicious smile. “Oh, I’m definitely going to beat you. But…” He leaned closer, bringing his mouth beside Zhang Chi’s ear. “I’m also going to let you experience just how much something like this can hurt someone.”
Xue Bao Tian abruptly straightened. Under Zhang Chi’s puzzled gaze, he raised his arm and brought the heavy glass ashtray down hard against the man’s head. Flesh split open instantly, and warm blood streamed downward.
Zhang Chi let out a muffled grunt, but his spine remained straight. He did not even sway.
Xue Bao Tian strolled to the sofa and sat down, crossed his legs, and lit a cigarette. A malicious smile hid behind the curling smoke. “Pretty tough, aren’t you? Keep it up. Don’t chicken out later.”
Blood flowed over one of Zhang Chi’s eyes. His brows drew together slightly as he asked in a deep voice, “What else are you planning to do?”
Xue Bao Tian glanced impatiently at the lackeys standing behind him. “Aren’t they here yet?”
“They’re here. Waiting outside.”
The corner of his mouth lifted sharply. “Then let them in.”
The villa door opened once more. This time, several women with fluttering skirts entered along with the mountain wind, their pale thighs and cleavage exposed despite the bitter cold. Under the harsh white lights, their curves were impossible to miss.
The heavily made-up women lined up in a row. Xue Bao Tian swept his gaze over them and clicked his tongue. “How did you pick them? Wasn’t I clear on the phone?” The lackey behind him immediately bent forward and explained, “We found these women at three different nightclubs. I swear, they’re the oldest and ugliest ones we could find.”
Young Master Xue pursed his lips. “Fuck, are nightclubs running such respectable businesses these days? Old and ugly women aren’t allowed to turn tricks anymore?”
He waved a hand, looking thoroughly resigned. “Whatever. They’ll do. Bring the money over.”
Ten neat stacks of cash were placed on the table. Xue Bao Tian sat with his legs crossed, idly swinging one expensive leather shoe.
With his gaze, he directed the women toward Zhang Chi, who was still kneeling on the floor. “As long as the five of you serve him well tonight, all this money is yours.”
Zhang Chi: “!!!”