Futile Devices Scans

From beneath the piled blankets, a hand stretched out, fumbling around before finally grabbing the phone that had been ringing nonstop.

He dragged it into the covers and answered. Xue Bao Tian’s drowsy voice, muffled by the cotton, came through: “Who is it? I’m sleeping… a meeting? I’m taking leave, I’m not going to any meeting… wait, a board meeting?”

The blanket was suddenly thrown off. Xue Bao Tian struggled to sit up and said into the phone, “Wait for me, I’ll be there right away.”

His sleepy eyes gradually cleared, but the phone slipped from his hand. His horrified gaze moved from the mottled pink wallpaper in front of him to the frayed dark green curtains, and finally landed on the strong arm wrapped around his waist.

He abruptly lifted the other side of the blanket—and sure enough, it was that bastard Zhang Chi. The young man was sleeping soundly, his hair messy, stubble visible on his chin. His not-so-delicate skin looked firm and vibrant in the morning light, unexpectedly calm and handsome.

Damn it, how did I end up tangled with this bastard again? Xue Bao Tian rubbed his aching temples, trying to recall what had happened last night through the haze.

“You drank too much last night.” The arm around his waist tightened, pulling Xue Bao Tian into a warm embrace. Without opening his eyes, Zhang Chi accurately kissed his temple. “Why not sleep a little longer? Does your head hurt?”

The next moment, Zhang Chi’s chest tightened. The person in his arms flipped over smoothly, straddling him from above. “Zhang Chi, you’ve gotten used to bullying me, haven’t you?” The fingers around his neck slowly tightened. “Did you hide when humanity evolved? Skipped right over morals and decency? If I don’t teach you a lesson today, you’ll really think your Master Xue is someone you can push around!”

Zhang Chi opened his eyes. His thick eyelashes caught a flicker of morning light, soft and faint, like a peaceful scene.

He raised both hands and gripped Xue Bao Tian’s waist, flicking lightly at a sensitive spot. A muffled groan slipped out before Xue Bao Tian could stop it. The grip on his neck loosened for a moment, and Zhang Chi seized the chance—grabbing his wrist, pressing it down, and turning his body swiftly. He caught the man who lost his balance and fell into his arms.

Supporting his back, restraining his hands, pinning his legs—Xue Bao Tian was wrapped into a broad chest, completely losing the ability to resist.

“Damn you, Zhang Chi. Aside from using force, what else can you do?”

Now the only thing Xue Bao Tian could move was his mouth. Unsatisfied with just cursing, he bit down hard on Zhang Chi’s shoulder. But after biting, he felt it was undignified—like a shrew pulling hair in a fight—too embarrassing. He released his bite and spat, “Tastes like crap.”

The pain in his shoulder seemed to trigger something in Zhang Chi. He held Xue Bao Tian even tighter, his hand slipping under the hem of his clothes to stroke the smooth skin of his back. His morning voice, layered with desire, sounded hoarse and heavy. “Two Hundred, I didn’t touch you last night. Shouldn’t I get a reward?”

“Didn’t touch me?” Xue Bao Tian hadn’t yet processed Zhang Chi’s sudden display of restraint when he felt the growing heat pressing against his lower body.

“Zhang Chi! If you keep messing around, I’ll break your damn thing!”

But Zhang Chi seemed to have entered his own world again, shutting out everything else. He lowered his head and lightly bit Xue Bao Tian’s jaw, then asked slowly, “Two Hundred, why don’t you grow much facial hair?”

This is bad. Xue Bao Tian’s heart jolted—Zhang Chi was getting worked up again. Whether he cursed or begged, it wouldn’t help.

His eyes swept around, landing on the ashtray on the bedside table. Stretching out his arm, he grabbed it, yanked the man on top of him up, and swung it down hard—

Xue Bao Tian sat on the edge of the bed, cigarette in his mouth, pulling on his pants. “I’ve got a meeting. If I don’t go, that brother-in-law of mine will take all the advantage.”

“Mm, my fault. Got carried away again.” Zhang Chi wiped the blood from his forehead with a tissue. “At first I didn’t mean anything by it, but when you bit me…”

“Still a damn masochist.” Xue Bao Tian knelt on one knee on the bed. “Come here, let me see if I hit you hard.”

Zhang Chi grabbed him by the smooth shirt and pulled him closer, examining him carefully. “There are bite marks on your chin, and hickeys on your neck. Will that affect your meeting?”

Xue Bao Tian scoffed and patted Zhang Chi’s face. “Idiot. People are used to seeing hickeys on me from women. It’s nothing.”

He tried to get up, but Zhang Chi held him tighter. The man’s expression wasn’t as gentle as before—his gaze darkened.

Just as Xue Bao Tian’s guard went up, Zhang Chi let go and said calmly, “Drive carefully. You drank too much last night.”

Xue Bao Tian let out a breath of relief. Being able to escape Zhang Chi depended entirely on the man’s occasional sense of restraint—and that restraint was as unreliable as a 31st day in the month.

Putting on his coat, Xue Bao Tian adjusted his hair using his phone screen as a mirror and casually asked, “So how did I end up drunk yesterday?”

Zhang Chi was getting dressed too, still half-aroused, unable to pull up his zipper. “Those guys kept toasting you, and you just kept drinking. I couldn’t stop you.”

Xue Bao Tian clicked his tongue, trying to save face. “Aren’t they your friends? Drinking with them is giving you face. The people who usually drink with me—who aren’t wealthy? Why would I bother with those construction workers?”

He turned and noticed Zhang Chi’s obvious state, stepping back as he put on his shoes. He glanced again and couldn’t resist making a jab. “Your evolution path is really twisted—sometimes human, sometimes beast. How come last night you managed to take a small step toward human civilization?”

Zhang Chi looked over at him, his pants still undone. Sunlight streamed from behind him, casting a long shadow forward. His features were half-hidden in the dimness. “Master Xue, if you don’t leave now, whether I’m human or beast will be hard to say.”

At that, Xue Bao Tian immediately grabbed the doorknob, yanked the door open, and rushed out—leaving only a muttered “damn” echoing down the long, shabby corridor.

After finally calming down, Zhang Chi pulled up his zipper, then took a few tissues and pressed them against the wound at his temple. The bleeding had already stopped—there was only a bit of pain. Xue Bao Tian hadn’t gone all out; he had held back.

A flash of light glinted at his wrist. Zhang Chi paused, then smiled helplessly. Wrapped around his wrist was a string of black zircon beads. Xue Bao Tian had forced it onto him the night before. At the time, he had been deeply drunk, mistaking Zhang Chi for a woman—hugging him, kissing and nibbling, pouring out sweet words, promising all sorts of exaggerated benefits. In the end, he had even taken off the bracelet from his own wrist and put it on Zhang Chi.

Back then, Zhang Chi had been stirred up by the kisses. It was the first time Xue Bao Tian had thrown himself at him so willingly, his enthusiasm overwhelming. But at the same time, Zhang Chi couldn’t shake the discomfort in his heart. As Xue Bao Tian kept calling him “baby” and “sweetheart,” he gradually lost interest.

When Zhang Chi finally wrapped the eager Xue Bao Tian tightly in a blanket, he thought to himself that sweet lies meant to coax someone were not as pleasant as blunt insults.

After leaving the room, Zhang Chi went to the front desk to settle the bill. It was still the same elderly owner, adjusting his broken-legged reading glasses. “Already paid. That guy from before paid. He even told me specifically this time you didn’t use protection—you two are just good buddies.”

Zhang Chi’s ears turned red. He gave a slight nod and turned to leave the inn.

The morning air was cool. As he walked along the road, he took out his phone and dialed a number. When it connected, he asked, “While I wasn’t there last night, did Ding Min do anything unusual?” The other side spoke for a while, and Zhang Chi lowered his gaze. “So cautious—his counter-surveillance ability is indeed strong. I’ll head back right away…”

“Hey, don’t move. Cooperate a little.” Suddenly, Xue Bao Tian’s cold, slightly vicious voice sounded nearby. Zhang Chi looked in that direction and, about ten meters away, saw a familiar backside.

“I’ll head back now—we’ll talk in person.” He hung up the phone.

Taking a few steps closer, Zhang Chi saw Xue Bao Tian kneeling by the roadside, his upper body almost entirely stretched into a drainage ditch.

It wasn’t the rainy season. The drainage ditch on both sides of the road only had shallow sludge. Rotten leaves and bits of garbage were tangled together, giving off a faintly pungent smell.

Xue Bao Tian’s long, bony fingers were hooked onto a wire mesh. Someone must have thrown it away—it was lodged across the middle of the ditch. Inside a torn hole in the mesh, a small kitten was stuck by the head, unable to free itself.

“Hey, kitty, don’t be scared. I’m a good person. Don’t move—if you struggle, those wires will cut you.”

The wire mesh was wedged against both sides of the ditch, making it hard to pull. Zhang Chi saw Xue Bao Tian starting to roll up his pant legs—he was clearly planning to step into the ditch to rescue the cat.

“I’ll do it.” Zhang Chi pressed a hand onto the man’s shoulder and casually ruffled his hair. “You’ve got a meeting. Don’t dirty your clothes.”

Xue Bao Tian turned around and saw it was Zhang Chi, looking annoyed. “Why are you everywhere? Got nothing better to do? Why not go comb a bald man’s hair or teach a blind person to dance—or go lecture Americans about morality while you’re at it?”

Zhang Chi’s smile spread across his face. He brushed a hand across Xue Bao Tian’s lips. “Too much talking.”

Finding two large stone slabs, Zhang Chi stacked them in the ditch, creating a foothold above the sludge and garbage. Standing on one foot atop the stones, he carefully freed the kitten from the wire mesh bit by bit, then lifted it up by the loose skin at the back of its neck.

The kitten was tiny, meowing weakly, skinny and pitiful as it dangled from Zhang Chi’s grip.

“Let it go?” Zhang Chi asked, looking at Xue Bao Tian, who was smoking.

“Ugly as hell.” Xue Bao Tian glanced at the cat, then at Zhang Chi. “Not smart either—getting stuck in a net like that.”

He exhaled smoke, opened the door of his sports car, and pointed inside with disdain. “Throw it in the car. It’s so ugly it’s practically collectible.”

Zhang Chi did as he was told. As he brushed past Xue Bao Tian, he called softly, “Two Hundred.”

The low whisper carried a hint of intimacy, but Xue Bao Tian shoved his face away in disgust. Circling around the car, he opened the driver’s door and muttered to himself, “Damn bad luck—always running into ugly and stupid things.”

He bent down and got into the car. The door slammed loudly, the engine roared, and the car shot forward. Not long after, it reversed back. The window rolled down, and Xue Bao Tian spoke with a hint of urgency, “Check that dating app more often. If someone contacts you, go meet them. With your looks, what are you being picky for?”

Zhang Chi nodded and replied, “Got it.” He glanced at his watch and said calmly, “Two Hundred, you’re going to be late.”

“Damn.” With a press of the accelerator, the car roared off again.

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