Zhou Ruo An knew perfectly well why Bai Jiu had come looking for him. The fact that he had bought the phone number of someone close to Bai Jiu through a broker was never going to be brushed aside lightly.
He wanted to send Lin Yi a message, but he was being watched too closely. There was no opportunity and no way to act.
Zhou Ruo An drank the last of his soy milk, flashed a flirtatious smile at a woman eating breakfast nearby, and lightly rested his fingers against her packet of tissues. “May I?”
After successfully obtaining a napkin, he wiped his mouth before finally looking at Bai Jiu’s men. “Is your Ninth Master inviting me, or arresting me?”
Zhou Ruo An now carried the title of a young master of the Zhou family, and the two bodyguards had presumably been given instructions beforehand. Their attitude wasn’t exactly respectful, but neither did they use force. “Master Bai invites you for tea.” One of the bodyguards took the phone from Zhou Ruo An’s hand. “Mr. Zhou shouldn’t alert anyone else.”
After thinking it over briefly, Zhou Ruo An decided that even someone as arrogant as Bai Jiu probably wouldn’t dare casually harm the young master of a conglomerate family. Besides, he was already under their control and had little room to choose.
Throwing the used napkin into the trash, he thanked the woman again in his usual carefree manner before walking over and getting into the car.
The seat was soft, yet Zhou Ruo An still frowned slightly. After mentally skinning Lin Yi another three layers deep, he finally closed his eyes and pretended to nap with aristocratic composure.
After more than twenty minutes on the road, they arrived at an old, well-established teahouse. There was open seating downstairs, private rooms upstairs, and a storyteller performing in the main hall.
Zhou Ruo An was led to the second floor. When the private-room door opened, he saw Bai Jiu sitting inside drinking tea.
Bai Jiu’s real name was unknown. He was in his forties and looked extremely ordinary, without anything particularly eye-catching about him. If one had to pick out a distinctive feature, it would be his loose-skinned eyes. The outer corners usually drooped, but whenever he lifted them, a sharp gleam showed within.
Rumor had it that he had once walked the respectable 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 threw away that respectable livelihood and entered the underworld. Bold, careful, shrewd, and blessed with a fair amount of luck, Bai Jiu had genuinely carved out a territory for himself.
Now those drooping eyelids lifted slightly as he examined Zhou Ruo An from head to toe, finally settling once more on the young man’s faintly swollen lips. “Young Master Zhou, come sit.”
Under Bai Jiu’s gaze, Zhou Ruo An walked over and sat opposite him. “Did Master Bai need something from me?”
“Can’t we meet if there’s nothing?” The teacup in front of Zhou Ruo An was empty. Bai Jiu picked up the teapot, and the stream of tea struck the rim before spiraling along the smooth white porcelain and into the bottom of the cup. Zhou Ruo An thanked him but made no move to touch the tea. Crossing his legs, he glanced at the storyteller downstairs and said lightly, “A busy man like Master Bai wouldn’t waste time on little people like us for no reason.”
Because he was sitting at an angle, half of Zhou Ruo An’s face was concealed. His hair was pure black, yet his eyes were light-colored, their outer corners slightly raised, giving his features a cold sharpness. When he lowered his gaze, however, his long lashes softened that severity, enough to stir an itch in someone’s heart.
Bai Jiu watched him as he drank his tea, remembering the first time he had seen Zhou Ruo An. Sure enough, once that piece of uncut jade buried in mud had been washed and carved, its brilliance was dazzling enough to burn the eyes.
Setting down his cup, Bai Jiu’s expression lost its earlier warmth. “Then I won’t waste time circling around 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 coming had finally come. There really was no avoiding this.
Zhou Ruo An’s secret purchase of the number was intricately tied to his impersonation and couldn’t withstand close scrutiny. Surrounded by the fragrance of tea, his heart pounded, but all he could do was admit it. “Oh, Master Bai means that. Yes. The number I asked for was President Wang’s.”
The first time Zhou Ruo An had met Bai Jiu, he had acted extremely respectful, even trembling with caution. Now, however, he carried the bearing of a Zhou family young master, even his smile 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 kept waiting and never received your call. 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 you.”
He had come up with the explanation on the drive over. It was extremely far-fetched, but attached to a twenty-something like Zhou Ruo An, it could still be explained away as youthful loyalty and stupidity.
Sure enough, Bai Jiu smiled as he lit a cigarette. His gaze was like 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? Lin Yi was already one of my men. Even if his position was lower, finding Wang Zhi Ping’s number wouldn’t have been difficult for him. Why would you need to secretly spend several thousand buying it?”
“Or…” Bai Jiu slowly raised his triangular eyes. “Did Young Master Zhou have some other plan? It really wouldn’t be difficult to investigate.”
A shock ran through Zhou Ruo An. A man like Bai Jiu could catch the tiniest root and dig all the way down to the bone. Worse, Lin Yi had secretly contacted quite a few DNA testing centers back then. If Bai Jiu truly wanted to investigate, it wasn’t as though there were no leads.
Zhou Ruo An’s face had gone terribly rigid. Amid the chaos in his thoughts, he struggled to remain calm, unwilling to let Bai Jiu see any more flaws. Bai Jiu poured away the cold tea in Zhou Ruo An’s cup and replaced it with hot tea. Then he personally lifted the white porcelain cup and held it out to him, his undisguised gaze wrapped in a smile as he spoke like he was joking. “Actually, I’d much rather hear that Young Master Zhou bought that number because he wanted to get close to me.”
Zhou Ruo An froze. His mind went blank for a long moment before he finally understood what Bai Jiu meant.
Ordinarily, Zhou Ruo An could mix lies and truth together as naturally as breathing. But perhaps Lin Yi had tormented him too thoroughly the night before, or perhaps the pill still hadn’t completely worn off. Either way, he found himself strangely tongue-tied and unable to respond.
Fortunately, a knock suddenly sounded against the private-room door.
Neither loud nor soft, neither hurried nor slow. Extremely proper and restrained.
Bai Jiu was holding a cat teaser and playing with a cat. Having his pleasant moment interrupted naturally put him in a poor mood. He lifted his teacup, skimmed the floating leaves aside with the lid, took a small sip, and said irritably, “Come in.”
The private-room door slowly opened. Standing outside were Lin Yi and Bai Jiu’s chief steward, Wang Zhi Ping.
“Why aren’t you downstairs listening to the storytelling?” Bai Jiu asked.
“Too noisy downstairs. I came to Master Bai’s place for some peace and quiet,” Lin Yi replied.
He walked inside and reached the tea table before acting as though he had only just noticed the young man sitting opposite Bai Jiu. Slightly surprised, he asked, “Ruo An, why are you here?”
Zhou Ruo An’s teeth practically ached at the sound. Lin Yi had never addressed him that way before. In the past, he had simply called him by his full name. Later, after they fell out, he had mockingly called him Young Master Zhou, and whenever he got worked up, he would call him An An a few times, making Zhou Ruo An want nothing more than to slap him across the face.
This way of addressing him now carried the easy closeness of brothers, clearly showing that Lin Yi was trying to win a little leniency for him from Bai Jiu. Zhou Ruo An understood immediately. He had just started to smile and respond when the man behind Lin Yi cut him off.
Wang Zhi Ping swaggered inside and dropped himself onto a nearby rosewood chair. “Yo, isn’t this the little scammer who bought my phone number? Master Bai, did you bring him here for an interrogation?”
Bai Jiu clicked his tongue. “He’s the young master of the Zhou family’s third branch now. Old Wang, show a little courtesy.”
“The fuck do I care whether he’s from the Zhou family or the Li family? We’re getting this cleared up today.”
Bai Jiu might have wanted to flirt with Zhou Ruo An, but a man who had reached his position obviously had far more in his head than lust and filthy thoughts.
So he cut off the explanation Zhou Ruo An was about to give and turned instead to Lin Yi. “Xiao Lin, tell me. What’s the story behind Young Master Zhou secretly buying President Wang’s phone number?”
Shit. Zhou Ruo An’s heart tightened. He and Lin Yi had never coordinated their stories. If Lin Yi gave a different explanation now, the false skin Zhou Ruo An was wearing would probably be stripped off today.
The freshly poured tea was scalding, its heat seeping through the white porcelain into Zhou Ruo An’s slender fingers. Yet he seemed unable to feel it, gripping the cup tightly, the blue veins on the back of his hand as clearly visible as the bloodshot lines in his eyes.
Lin Yi, having been called on by Bai Jiu, was sitting in another sandalwood chair and pouring tea for Wang Zhi Ping. Hearing the question, he looked toward Zhou Ruo An in surprise. “You bought President Wang’s number?”
He muttered under his breath, “I thought that broker was just spouting nonsense.” The tea continued pouring at exactly the same pace. Only after the cup overflowed did Lin Yi seem to suddenly realize something. He looked to Zhou Ruo An for confirmation. “You didn’t buy it because of me, did you?”
The heart that had been stuck in Zhou Ruo An’s throat instantly dropped back into place. Setting down the burning-hot cup, he complained slightly, “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 then 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 hardly someone at the center of any storm. In Bai Jiu and Wang Zhi Ping’s eyes, he was no more than a lucky little scammer with no real threat attached to him. Wang Zhi Ping therefore drawled lazily at Lin Yi, “Why didn’t you just come ask me? Made your brother waste several thousand yuan for nothing.”
Lin Yi now seemed to get along fairly well with Wang Zhi Ping. He raised his teacup in a toast. “How would I have dared back then? Brother Wang was someone impossibly high above me. Who would’ve guessed you were actually the type to secretly pocket a handful of peanuts and sunflower seeds?”
“Shit.” Wang Zhi Ping pulled two handfuls of peanuts and sunflower seeds from his pockets and laughed as he cursed. “If I didn’t hide some away, those useless bastards downstairs would eat everything. Then they’d spend the whole car ride burping and farting, and I’d be the one suffering.”
He laughed, and everyone else laughed with him. Even Bai Jiu’s face wrinkled with amusement. Zhou Ruo An also lifted the corners of his mouth in a fake smile, secretly glancing toward Lin Yi. The man was smiling into his tea and didn’t send Zhou Ruo An so much as one look. No one could possibly have imagined that the night before, he had held Zhou Ruo An for hours as though he wanted to swallow him whole. Amid the laughter, Bai Jiu suddenly spoke. “Respectable men in suits aren’t necessarily good people either. The Zhou family has plenty of demons and monsters. Have you been finding your footing since returning to the family, Young Master Zhou?”
He lightly pushed the dried-fruit tray toward Zhou Ruo An. “Lin Yi’s friends are my friends. If Young Master Zhou ever needs help, just say so. I, Bai Jiu, may not be someone fit for polite society, but there aren’t many people in your Zhou family qualified to sit across from me and drink tea.”
Those few words silenced the formerly lively room.
Wang Zhi Ping suddenly looked enlightened. His gaze swept Zhou Ruo An thoroughly from head to toe before he meaningfully nudged Lin Yi with the tip of his shoe.
Lin Yi had been quietly drinking tea the entire time, his expression faint and unreadable. When Wang Zhi Ping kicked his shoe, he simply shifted his foot aside and ignored the teasing look.
Bai Jiu had tossed the words directly toward Zhou Ruo An, so he couldn’t refuse to catch them. His pale fingers picked a piece of dried fruit from the tray as he smiled. “Master Bai is too modest. If even you can’t stand on the stage, then there wouldn’t be anyone left on Yan City’s stage. Thank you for your kindness, but I don’t have any grand ambitions. I don’t enjoy all that fighting and competing. Still, with Master Bai’s words behind me, I won’t have to fear any demons or monsters.”
Zhou Ruo An’s response was neither servile nor overbearing. He had politely declined Bai Jiu for now while still leaving himself an opening: not now, but perhaps later. He had piled stones across the road without blocking it completely. Who knew when that road might eventually lead to Rome?
Bai Jiu seemed fairly pleased 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 played pimp for Bai Jiu. Lighting a cigarette and crossing one leg over the other, he laughed shamelessly. “You can call me too. Young Master Zhou spent several thousand yuan on that number, after all. You ought to get some value out of it.”
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Bai Jiu stood to leave. Before going, he took Zhou Ruo An’s hand again.
Zhou Ruo An allowed Bai Jiu to rub the skin of his wrist, while the corner of his eye drifted toward Lin Yi standing not far away.
Lin Yi stood to one side, his gaze passing over everyone toward the storyteller downstairs. The story was from Water Margin: Lin Chong mistakenly entering White Tiger Hall, one of the most infuriating episodes in the tale. Lin Yi’s jaw shifted slightly, as though he were grinding his teeth.
Elio’s Notes: In Water Margin, Lin Chong is tricked into entering the restricted White Tiger Hall as part of a plot to frame and persecute him.
After seeing Bai Jiu off, Lin Yi stayed behind. The instant the private-room door closed, he covered Zhou Ruo An’s mouth with one hand. His gaze darkened, though his voice still carried the easy laughter of a brother. “So you really did buy that phone number for me?”
Zhou Ruo An understood immediately. Bai Jiu was cunning as hell; the room was probably bugged. He pulled Lin Yi’s hand away. “If my brother makes it big someday, maybe he can pull me up with him too.”
Lin Yi looked at the cold-faced young man, his expression dark even as he smiled. “Then how should I thank you, Young Master Zhou?”
Leaning closer, he whispered, “How about I let you kiss me once?”
Then his warm lips pressed down hard against Zhou Ruo An’s.