Futile Devices Scans

Why Master Bai had come looking for him, Zhou Ruo An knew perfectly well. The matter of him buying the phone number of someone close to Master Bai through a broker definitely would not be brushed aside lightly.

He wanted to send Lin Yi a message, but he was being watched too closely. There was no opportunity, no way to act.

Zhou Ruo An drank the last mouthful of soy milk, then flashed a flirtatious smile at a woman eating breakfast nearby and lightly rested his fingers on her pack of tissues. “May I?”

Successfully obtaining a napkin, he wiped his mouth before finally looking at Master Bai’s men. “So is your Ninth Master inviting me, or arresting me?”

Now carrying the title of a young master of the Zhou family, Zhou Ruo An guessed the two bodyguards had likely received instructions beforehand. Their attitude was not exactly respectful, but neither did they resort to force. “Master Bai invites you for tea.” One of the bodyguards took the phone from Zhou Ruo An’s hand. “Mr. Zhou shouldn’t alarm anyone else.”

After brief consideration, Zhou Ruo An decided that even as arrogant as Master Bai was, he probably would not dare casually lay hands on the young master of a conglomerate family. Besides, being under someone else’s control right now, he had little room to choose.

Throwing the used napkin into the trash and once more thanking the woman in his usual carefree manner, he walked over to the car and got in.

The seats were soft, but Zhou Ruo An still frowned slightly, mentally skinning Lin Yi alive another three layers deep before finally closing his eyes and pretending to nap with aristocratic composure.

After driving for over twenty minutes, they arrived at a teahouse. It was an old established place—open seating downstairs and private rooms upstairs, with a storyteller performing in the main hall.

Zhou Ruo An was led upstairs. When the private room door was pushed open, he saw Master Bai sitting inside drinking tea.

Master Bai’s real name was unknown. In his forties, he looked extremely ordinary, with nothing especially striking about him. If one had to point out something distinctive, it would only be those loose-skinned eyes. The corners always drooped downward, but when he lifted them, sharp gleams could be seen inside.

Rumor had it that he had once walked the straight path, working as a bodyguard for a security company. But he thought the money came too slowly and disliked being controlled by others, so he smashed his proper rice bowl and entered the underworld instead. Bold, careful, shrewd, and with a fair amount of luck, Master Bai had truly carved out a world for himself.

Now those drooping eyelids lifted slightly as he sized Zhou Ruo An up from head to toe, finally settling on the young man’s faintly swollen lips. “Young Master Zhou, come sit.”

Under Master Bai’s gaze, Zhou Ruo An walked over and sat opposite him. “Did Master Bai need something from me?”

“Can’t we gather even if there’s nothing?” The teacup before Zhou Ruo An sat empty. Master Bai picked up the teapot, and the tea streamed over the rim, spiraling down the smooth white porcelain into the cup below.

Zhou Ruo An thanked him but made no move to touch the tea. Crossing his legs, he glanced toward the storyteller downstairs and said lightly, “A busy man like Master Bai wouldn’t waste time on little people like us without a reason.”

Because he sat at an angle, half of Zhou Ruo An’s face was obscured. His hair was a pure black, but his eyes were light-colored, the corners slightly upturned, giving his features a cold sharpness. Yet when he lowered his gaze, his long lashes softened him slightly, stirring an itch in people’s hearts.

Master Bai watched him while drinking tea, remembering the first time he had met Zhou Ruo An. Sure enough, once that piece of unpolished jade buried in mud had been washed and carved, it shone brilliantly enough to burn the eyes.

Setting down his teacup, Master Bai’s expression lost its earlier warmth. “Then I won’t waste time going in circles with Young Master Zhou. I heard that a few months ago, you bought the phone number of one of my brothers through a broker.” His distinctive eyelids lifted slightly, revealing that sharp gleam again. “Is that true, Young Master Zhou?”

What was meant to come would eventually come. This issue truly could not be avoided.

Zhou Ruo An’s secret purchase of the number was intricately tied to his impersonation of an identity. It could not withstand close scrutiny. Sitting amid the fragrance of tea, the young man’s heart pounded, but he could only admit it. “Oh, so Master Bai means that matter. It’s true. The number I asked about was President Wang’s.”

The first time Zhou Ruo An had met Master Bai, he had acted extremely respectful, even trembling with caution. But now he carried the bearing of a Zhou family young master. Even his smile was faint and detached.

“At the time, Lin Yi had just helped Master Bai win the ring match and caught your eye, earning the chance to work under you. But afterward, he waited and waited for your call and never received one. We’re brothers, and I couldn’t stand seeing him anxious, so I bought President Wang’s number through someone. I only wanted Lin Yi to call and ask when he was supposed to report to your side.”

This explanation had been thought up on the way here. It was extremely far-fetched, but when placed on a twenty-something young man like Zhou Ruo An, it could still be interpreted as youthful loyalty and stupidity.

Sure enough, Master Bai smiled while lighting a cigarette. His gaze resembled that of someone watching children play house, his contempt completely undisguised. “You spent several thousand yuan buying a phone number just so Lin Yi could ask when to report to me? But Lin Yi was already one of my men. Even if his rank was lower, finding Wang Zhi Ping’s number wouldn’t have been difficult for him. Why would you need to secretly spend money buying it?”

“Or…” Master Bai slowly lifted his triangular eyes. “Did Young Master Zhou have some other plan?”

“It actually wouldn’t be difficult to investigate.”

A shock ran through Zhou Ruo An. A man like Master Bai could dig down to the bone from the tiniest clue. What’s more, back then Lin Yi had secretly contacted quite a few DNA testing centers. If Master Bai truly wanted to investigate, it wasn’t as though there were no leads.

Zhou Ruo An’s face stiffened terribly. Amid the chaos in his thoughts, he struggled to maintain calm, unwilling to let Master Bai see even more flaws.

Master Bai poured out the cold tea in Zhou Ruo An’s cup and refilled it with hot tea. Then he personally lifted the white porcelain cup and held it out toward Zhou Ruo An. His undisguised gaze hid behind a smile as he spoke as though joking.

“Actually, I’d much rather hear that Young Master Zhou bought that number in order to get close to me.”

Zhou Ruo An froze. His mind blanked for a long while before he finally understood the meaning behind Master Bai’s words.

He was usually someone who mixed lies and truth together freely, but whether because Lin Yi had tormented him too thoroughly last night or because the medicine’s effects had yet to fully fade, he found himself strangely tongue-tied now, unsure how to respond.

Fortunately, knocking suddenly sounded from outside the private room.

Not too loud, not too soft. Neither hurried nor slow. Extremely proper and restrained.

Master Bai was using a cat teaser to play with a cat. Having his pleasant moment interrupted naturally put him in a bad mood. He lifted his teacup, brushed aside the floating tea leaves with the lid, took a small sip, and said unhappily, “Come in.”

The private room door was slowly pushed open. Standing outside were unexpectedly Lin Yi and Master Bai’s chief steward, Wang Zhi Ping.

“Why aren’t you downstairs listening to the storytelling?” Master Bai asked.

“Too noisy downstairs. Came to Master Bai’s place to enjoy some peace and quiet,” Lin Yi replied.

He walked into the room. Only after reaching the tea table did he act as though he had just noticed the young man sitting opposite Master Bai. Showing slight surprise, he asked, “Ruo An, why are you here?”

Zhou Ruo An’s teeth ached from hearing it. Lin Yi had never addressed him like this before. In the past, he had called him directly by name. Later, after they fell out, he had mockingly and sarcastically called him Young Master Zhou. When worked up, he would even call him An An a few times, making Zhou Ruo An want nothing more than to slap him across the face.

Now this way of addressing him carried a kind of closeness between brothers, clearly showing that Lin Yi was helping him seek some leniency from Master Bai.

Zhou Ruo An understood immediately. Just as he was about to smile and respond, the man behind Lin Yi interrupted him.

Wang Zhi Ping, who had entered alongside him, swaggered over and dropped himself onto a nearby rosewood chair. “Yo, isn’t this the little scammer who bought my phone number? Master Bai, are you interrogating him?”

Master Bai clicked his tongue. “He’s now the young master of the Zhou family’s third branch. Old Wang, be a little polite.”

“The hell I care whether he’s from the Zhou family or the Li family. Today this matter’s getting cleared up.”

Master Bai might have wanted to flirt with Zhou Ruo An, but reaching his current position meant his brain held far more than lust and dirty thoughts.

So he cut off Zhou Ruo An’s explanation before it could leave his mouth and instead turned to Lin Yi. “Xiao Lin, tell me—what’s the story behind Young Master Zhou secretly buying President Wang’s phone number?”

Damn it. Zhou Ruo An’s heart tightened. He and Lin Yi had never coordinated their stories. If Lin Yi’s account differed from his now, then the fake skin Zhou Ruo An wore would probably be stripped away today.

The newly poured tea was scalding hot, the heat seeping through the white porcelain into his slender fingers. Yet Zhou Ruo An seemed to feel nothing at all, gripping the cup tightly. The blue veins on the back of his hand were as visible as the bloodshot lines in his eyes.

Lin Yi, who had just been called upon by Master Bai, was now seated in another sandalwood chair, holding the teapot and pouring tea for Wang Zhi Ping. Hearing the question, he looked toward Zhou Ruo An and asked in surprise, “You bought President Wang’s number?”

He muttered quietly, “I thought that broker was just talking nonsense.”

Tea streamed steadily into the cup without the pace changing at all. Only after it overflowed did Lin Yi seem to suddenly realize something. Turning to Zhou Ruo An for confirmation, he asked, “You didn’t buy it because of me, did you?”

The heart that had been lodged in Zhou Ruo An’s throat instantly dropped back into place. Setting down the burning teacup, he spoke in a slightly complaining tone. “You won the ring match and wanted to start working under Master Bai as soon as possible, but the call never came. You were anxious as hell. Around that time I happened to get a little money, got hotheaded, and bought President Wang’s number so you could call and ask.”

Zhou Ruo An was not someone standing at the center of storms and attention. In the eyes of Master Bai and Wang Zhi Ping, he was merely a lucky little scammer with no real threat attached to him. So Wang Zhi Ping lazily dragged out his words as he asked Lin Yi, “Why didn’t you just come ask me yourself? Made your brother waste several thousand yuan for nothing.”

Lin Yi now appeared to have a fairly good relationship with Wang Zhi Ping. He raised his teacup in a toast. “Back then, how would I have dared? Brother Wang was someone impossibly high above me. Who would’ve thought you were actually the type to secretly pocket peanuts and sunflower seeds too?”

“Fuck.” Wang Zhi Ping pulled two handfuls of peanuts and sunflower seeds from his pocket and laughed as he cursed. “If I didn’t secretly stash them away, those useless idiots downstairs would’ve eaten everything. Then they’d spend the car ride burping and farting, and I’d be the one suffering.”

He laughed, and everyone else followed suit. Even Master Bai’s face wrinkled with amusement. Zhou Ruo An also lifted the corners of his lips in a fake smile. Secretly, he glanced at Lin Yi. The man was smiling while drinking tea, not even sending him a single look. No one would ever imagine that last night he had held Zhou Ruo An the entire night, as though he wanted to swallow him alive whole.

Amid the laughter, Master Bai suddenly spoke. “Men in suits aren’t necessarily all good people. There are plenty of monsters and demons in the Zhou family. Since returning to your roots, has Young Master Zhou been getting along well?”

He lightly pushed the snack tray toward Zhou Ruo An. “Lin Yi’s friends are my friends. If Young Master Zhou ever needs help, just say the word. Though I, Bai Jiu, may not be someone fit for polite society, there are very few people in your Zhou family qualified to sit across from me and drink tea.”

After those words, the previously lively private room fell silent.

Wang Zhi Ping suddenly looked enlightened. His gaze swept Zhou Ruo An up and down thoroughly before meaningfully nudging Lin Yi with the tip of his shoe.

Lin Yi had been quietly drinking tea the whole time, his expression faint and unreadable. After being nudged, he simply shifted his foot aside and didn’t look at Wang Zhi Ping’s teasing expression.

Master Bai had thrown the words toward Zhou Ruo An, and he couldn’t ignore them. His pale fingers picked up a dried fruit from the tray as he smiled and said, “Master Bai is too modest. If even you can’t stand on the stage, then Yancheng’s stage would be empty of everyone. Thank you for your kindness, but I have no grand ambitions. I don’t enjoy fighting and competing. Still, with Master Bai’s words, I won’t fear any monsters or demons anymore.”

Zhou Ruo An’s response was neither servile nor overbearing. He politely declined Master Bai for now while still leaving room open. In other words—not now, but perhaps in the future. He had piled stones across the road without fully blocking it. Who knew when that road might eventually lead to Rome.

Master Bai seemed fairly satisfied with the answer. Pointing at Lin Yi, he said, “If Young Master Zhou wants to find me, go through him. No need to buy phone numbers anymore.”

Wang Zhi Ping had always acted as Master Bai’s pimp. Lighting a cigarette, he crossed one leg over the other and laughed shamelessly. “Calling me works too. Young Master Zhou spent several thousand yuan after all—he ought to get some value back from it.”

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Master Bai rose to leave. Before departing, he grabbed Zhou Ruo An’s hand once more.

Zhou Ruo An allowed Master Bai to rub the flesh at his wrist while the corner of his eye drifted toward Lin Yi not far away.

Lin Yi stood nearby, his gaze crossing over everyone toward the storyteller downstairs. The Water Margin—Lin Chong mistakenly entering White Tiger Hall, the most infuriating section of the tale. Lin Yi’s jaw shifted slightly, as though grinding his teeth.

Once Master Bai had been seen off, Lin Yi remained behind. The moment the private room door closed, he covered Zhou Ruo An’s mouth with one hand. His gaze darkened as he laughed in a brotherly manner. “So you really did buy that phone number for me?”

Zhou Ruo An understood immediately. Master Bai was cunning as hell—there was probably surveillance equipment in the room.

He pushed Lin Yi’s hand away. “If my brother rises to the top someday, maybe he can pull me up with him too.”

Lin Yi looked at the cold-faced young man and, with a darkened expression, asked smilingly, “Then how should I thank you, Young Master Zhou?”

Leaning in, he whispered softly, “How about I let you kiss me once?”

Then his warm lips pressed down hard against Zhou Ruo An’s.

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