Zhou Ruo An squatted in the back alley and rinsed his mouth with water. With a flick of his wrist, he forcefully threw the water bottle into a nearby trash can.
There was viciousness in his eyes, but his mouth curled into a mocking smile. “Some people keep saying they like me, but when their boss starts getting handsy with me, they don’t dare say a damn word. That kind of love is really fucking pathetic.”
His narrow eyes lifted as he looked at the tall man standing beside him. “Brother Lin, don’t you think that guy’s a coward?”
Lin Yi was smoking. Removing the cigarette from his lips, he lowered his head and looked at the mockery in Zhou Ruo An’s eyes, calmly admitting it. “He is.”
Zhou Ruo An pushed himself upright with one hand on his knee, meeting the man’s gaze directly. “Not only is that coward pathetic, he even took his anger out on me. He kissed my mouth and bit my tongue. Brother Lin, have you calmed down now?”
Zhou Ruo An’s words were extremely harsh, yet Lin Yi’s expression barely changed. He only smoked harder and faster, half his face buried in smoke, his gaze as dark and heavy as the shadows filling the alley.
“Don’t deliberately provoke Bai Jiu. I’ll help you acquire the electronics factory as quickly as possible. Once your position in the Zhou family is stable, he won’t dare touch you easily.”
Zhou Ruo An snorted coldly. “So now you finally know Bai Jiu has his eye on me? Before this, you always thought I was lying to you, didn’t you? Honestly, if I weren’t the Zhou family’s young master right now, I’d probably already be dragged into his bed. But getting into your bed isn’t any different from getting into his. You’re both fucking bastards.”
A draft swept through the alley. Holding the cigarette between his lips, Lin Yi fastened the buttons on Zhou Ruo An’s coat. Smoke stung his eyes, making him narrow one eye slightly as he spoke in a muffled tone. “I’m not the same as him. He has a wife, sleeps with both men and women, and doesn’t treat people like people.”
Zhou Ruo An abruptly yanked down the collar of his turtleneck, exposing the red marks on his neck. “And you fucking treated me like a person?”
There were kiss marks on his neck, as well as strangulation marks left by the necktie. Against his pale skin, they looked like blemishes staining white porcelain glaze. A pity, yes, but at the edge of ruin, they carried endless implications and allure.
Lin Yi raised his hand and slipped it inside the collar, his fingertips pressing gently against the vivid red marks as he stroked them. “Bai Jiu’s abilities in that area aren’t that great. He just likes whips and all kinds of things that hurt people. He’s ruined a lot of people. He’s a real sadist.” Hooking a hand around the back of Zhou Ruo An’s neck, he pulled him closer and lowered himself slightly, emphasizing again, “Zhou Ruo An, don’t provoke Bai Jiu. I still can’t beat him right now.”
Those words finally brought out the doubts Zhou Ruo An had been suppressing. Earlier in the private room at the teahouse, Lin Yi had actually been allowed to sit and converse in front of Bai Jiu, just like Wang Zhi Ping.
Zhou Ruo An understood enough of the rules of the underworld. In Bai Jiu’s line of work, being able to sit on equal footing with the boss meant one’s status had been acknowledged.
Lin Yi’s hand still rested on the back of Zhou Ruo An’s neck. The two were extremely close, their breaths nearly mingling together—a distance even more intimate than simple ambiguity.
Zhou Ruo An slapped Lin Yi’s hand away and stepped back. “Lin Yi, what exactly did you do for Bai Jiu to gain his favor this quickly?”
Lin Yi took the final drag from his cigarette, tossed the butt away, and very naturally grabbed Zhou Ruo An’s hand, rubbing it gently.
“Don’t move.” He tightened his grip around the wrist that was trying to pull away. “If you don’t want to talk business, I can fuck you again.”
Zhou Ruo An had never known Lin Yi could be this unreasonable. Wary of the man’s tendency to follow through on his words, he could only swallow his anger and compromise.
Lin Yi slowly rubbed from the base of Zhou Ruo An’s fingers to the fingertips, lightly scraping across the soft pads of his fingers. While doing so, he spoke in a deep, steady voice. “Bai Jiu has several companies registered under my name. Legally, I’m the owner while he stays behind the scenes as the hidden boss. I also manage quite a few of his businesses now.”
Watching Zhou Ruo An’s brows gradually knit together, Lin Yi smiled. “People who can’t see through it think I’m a rising star, maybe even a little above Wang Zhi Ping in status. But people who understand—like you—know that eventually I’ll be the one taking the fall for Bai Jiu.”
“If you know all the twists and traps involved, then why jump into the pit anyway?”
Lin Yi seemed especially fond of Zhou Ruo An’s ring finger, kneading it repeatedly several times. “I don’t have another choice. This is the only way I can rise quickly.”
His large hand moved up to stroke through the soft strands of Zhou Ruo An’s hair. “Don’t worry about me. If I’m lucky, I can gamble for something big. If I’m unlucky, then nobody will bother you anymore afterward.”
Zhou Ruo An let out a gloomy scoff. “Then I hope your luck turns bad soon and you end up taking a bullet for Bai Jiu.”
The rough calluses rubbing against him made Zhou Ruo An’s palm itch slightly. He curled his fingers faintly. “But before you take a bullet, finish handling my business. When are you planning to report—”
“The sooner the better. I’ve been keeping an eye on his hideout. The moment something happens, I’ll call the police.”
Having gotten the answer he wanted, Zhou Ruo An pulled his hand back and turned toward the alley exit as he spoke. “Delete the recording on your phone. If I ever hear it again, I’ll kill you.”
Behind him, Lin Yi lazily replied, “If you’d call me ‘husband’ more often to my face, I wouldn’t be so obsessed with recording it.”
“Fuck!” Zhou Ruo An suddenly stopped walking and turned back. “If I call you that once, does that mean I can do whatever I want?”
There was laughter in Lin Yi’s eyes. “Try it and see.”
Zhou Ruo An raised his fist and punched him. “Husband.”
The punch landed heavily on Lin Yi’s face. Then he added another taunting call, “Husband, the way you don’t fight back is fucking handsome.”
The second punch came whistling toward him. Lin Yi tilted aside, only taking half the force of the blow.
The next moment, Zhou Ruo An grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back. “Why dodge, husband? Ducking and weaving like that really ruins your style.”
With that, he delivered another vicious punch.
Lin Yi ended up laughing from being hit. Wrapping an arm around Zhou Ruo An, he pulled him into his embrace. “You can hit anywhere else as much as you want, but I can’t have injuries on my face for no reason. If Bai Jiu sees them, he’ll ask questions. Last time, when you had people corner me in the alley and stomped on my hand, he said he wanted to help me get revenge, but really he was just afraid I’d cause trouble for him—or that I was making moves behind his back. I barely managed to cover it up last time so he wouldn’t trace it back to you.”
Zhou Ruo An broke free from Lin Yi’s arms and disgustedly brushed at nonexistent dust on his clothes. “Stop acting like some lovesick fool. If you’re really that devoted, then handle my business properly.”
His right hand slipped into his pocket, rubbing the coin inside. “When you call the police, widen the scope a bit. If it’s too targeted, it’ll be easy for people to follow the trail back to you.”
Lin Yi nodded. “There are a few other villas nearby doing dirty business too. I’ll report them together and use them as a smokescreen.”
“Good.” Zhou Ruo An suddenly grabbed Lin Yi’s collar again and slammed a punch into his stomach. “I’m leaving, husband. I’ll be waiting for your good news.”
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Futile Devices Scans 
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