In early winter, Yancheng was often filled with fiery sunset clouds.
At dusk, they seemed to ignite from the horizon itself, surging like waves; one shimmering sweep would splash half the sky in brilliant rosy light.
Xue Bao Tian stood by the window watching for a long while before finally squeezing out a single sentence. “Holy shit.”
He nudged the man doing crunches at his feet with his shoe. “What’s that line again? Something flying together with something?”
After being kicked, Zhang Chi finished two more perfectly standard reps before stopping. Breathing hard, he thought for a moment. “I know which line you mean. A poet wrote it.”
Smiling brightly, Xue Bao Tian crouched down to look at him. “Brother Chi, you’re fucking talented. You even know it wasn’t written by an illiterate person.”
He pulled out his phone to search for the answer and lazily read from the screen, “‘You and the sunset fall together into the river of my heart.’” Then he shook his head. “Not this one.”
Elio’s Notes: Xue Bao Tian is trying to remember the famous line from Wang Bo’s Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng: “The sunset and a lone wild duck fly together; autumn waters merge with the endless sky.”
“This one’s good.” Zhang Chi rested a hand on the back of Xue Bao Tian’s neck and stroked it gently. “You and the sunset fall together into the river of my heart.”
“Fuck off.” Xue Bao Tian slapped the hand away. “You and your woven sack can fall right out of my apartment together.”
As he stood, he glanced sideways at Zhang Chi’s abs wrapped in sunset light, then secretly touched his own flat stomach.
He took two cans of beer from the fridge and casually tossed one over. “How’d you build all those muscles? Did the construction site pay you in gains?”
Zhang Chi opened the beer and took a drink to cool the heat from exercising. Smiling, he replied, “I already had them before.”
Xue Bao Tian sat down not far from him. His eyes held both the sunset and Zhang Chi, but the words out of his mouth ruined the mood. “Who taught you those half-baked fighting skills?”
Bare-chested, Zhang Chi sat on the floor, leaning halfway against the wall. “My master. He was a martial-arts stunt performer—what people nowadays call an action director.”
Xue Bao Tian looked interested. “Like the martial-arts choreographers in movies?”
“Yeah.” Zhang Chi took another sip of beer, gazing at the blazing sunset outside the window. “I followed him from the time I was little. Learned boxing, movements, routines. I started working as a stunt double at fourteen and changed careers at seventeen.”
“Why?”
“I got too tall. Too easy to give the game away.”
Zhang Chi set down his beer and picked up his phone. “Want to see the movie I worked on?”
Xue Bao Tian’s eyes lit up, though he still lounged on the sofa and put on airs. “I guess I can take a look.”
Pushing off the floor with one hand, Zhang Chi sprang to his feet. The developed muscles in his arms swelled, each line sharply defined and beautifully shaped from shoulder to elbow to wrist, every inch seeming packed with inexhaustible strength.
A fine sheen of sweat covered him, and sunset light draped over his body. When he sat beside Xue Bao Tian, he looked like a powerful yet gentle beast.
Xue Bao Tian was briefly distracted before shifting his attention to Zhang Chi’s phone. The video quality was not great. A bald martial monk wearing only rough cloth trousers was fighting several people. Most of the shots showed only his back or were filmed from a distance, yet Xue Bao Tian recognized at a glance that the monk was Zhang Chi.
Back then, Zhang Chi was not as heavily built as he was now, but he was still packed with muscle. His skin had been deliberately darkened to bronze for the role. His movements were fierce and powerful as he darted through the film, fighting one opponent after another as though he could take on a hundred men alone.
“How old were you then?” Xue Bao Tian asked lazily.
“Seventeen.”
“And then you changed careers to hauling bricks on construction sites?”
The beer paused halfway to Zhang Chi’s lips before he quietly answered, “Mm.”
The clip was not even two minutes long. Once the screen went black, Xue Bao Tian asked with great interest, “When did you realize you liked men?”
“Probably during puberty.”
Xue Bao Tian pointed at the phone. “You had so many men around you back then. How come you never hooked up with one?”
Zhang Chi smiled faintly. “I was young and thin-skinned. I was afraid people would think I was a freak. Besides, there wasn’t anyone around me I liked. I’m not into muscular types. Grabbing one feels like I’m touching myself.”
Xue Bao Tian snickered and reached over to grope Zhang Chi once. “Yeah, not pleasant to touch. Hard as a fucking stone from a latrine pit.”
Zhang Chi caught that wrist, then slowly traced upward along Xue Bao Tian’s arm, over his shoulder, and down to his waist. “Know why I took you back to the construction site that day?”
Xue Bao Tian immediately started grinding his teeth.
“Because your waist is soft but springy, and you smell good too.”
His palm rubbed over the fabric, warming the skin beneath little by little. Xue Bao Tian did not stop him, only narrowed his eyes coldly at Zhang Chi. “Am I throwing you out, or are you packing up and leaving on your own?”
“I’m not touching you. Just feeling you up a little.”
Fuck, what kind of scumbag line is that?!
Xue Bao Tian kicked Zhang Chi away hard. “Stay the hell away from me from now on. No kissing, touching, hugging—none of that shit. We’re in a normal employer-employee relationship now. Even if Master Xue wanted to pull some casting-couch shit at work, it still wouldn’t be your turn.”
Zhang Chi obediently stopped moving closer and simply picked up the kitten, petting and kissing it instead.
Xue Bao Tian tore open a fresh pack of cigarettes, flicked one out from the bottom, and bit it between his lips. “The first day of next month is the day after tomorrow. Huang Song just called me.”
“Where did he book the place?” Zhang Chi asked.
“A private villa on top of a mountain.”
Zhang Chi’s hand paused briefly on the cat before he answered calmly, “Got it.”
After a sharp turn and sudden brake, the sports car stopped on the lawn in front of the villa. Even in early winter, Yancheng’s grass still carried traces of green—the sort of lawn maintained by throwing money at it. Now several arrogant tire tracks had ruined the luxurious beauty of the grounds, making the gardener nearby click his tongue repeatedly.
Xue Bao Tian pushed open the car door and stepped onto the lawn. Lazily hooking one finger over his sunglasses, he lowered them slightly and looked at Huang Song standing before the villa with only half an eye exposed.
Huang Song bit a cigar between his teeth, clapped his hands once, spread his arms wide, and walked forward with a smile.
Xue Bao Tian smiled too. The smile floating over his features was dazzlingly bright as he warmly embraced Huang Song and exchanged greetings with him like an old friend.
Two devils, two masks—both hiding their true intentions perfectly.
“Young Master Xue, you’re looking well. I haven’t seen you in only a few days, and somehow you’re even more radiant.” Huang Song handed the cigar to the assistant beside him and gestured toward the people behind him. “Let me introduce a few friends to Young Master Xue. They’re all outstanding figures in their respective industries. After hearing me mention you, they admired you greatly and wanted the chance to witness your elegance firsthand. Well, now the opportunity’s here.”
Xue Bao Tian was perfectly capable of handling social niceties; he simply usually could not be bothered. Now, however, he tucked away his fangs and played the refined gentleman, carrying just enough arrogance beneath his humility that no one dared underestimate him without making himself unpleasant.
After exchanging greetings and pleasantries one by one, Huang Song led Xue Bao Tian toward the villa. Just as he stepped onto the stairs, he turned back casually. “Young Master Xue, where’s that bodyguard of yours?”
Xue Bao Tian stopped as well and cast a light glance sideways, spotting Zhang Chi at the back of the group quietly surveying the entire courtyard.
“Zhang Chi.” Xue Bao Tian called to him coldly. “You see President Huang and don’t even know how to greet him?”
On occasions like this, assistants and bodyguards were generally not brought into the spotlight. If they were, it either meant they had earned unusual favor—or there was some other unspoken reason.
Under the probing gazes of the crowd, Zhang Chi walked forward unhurriedly. Taking the lower position of a subordinate, he gave Xue Bao Tian all the face he could. “President Huang, I’m honored you still remember me.”
“Surnamed Zhang?” Huang Song seemed rather appreciative of Zhang Chi and patted him on the shoulder. “Xiao Zhang, here protecting your boss again today?”
“My boss brought me to broaden my horizons.” Though he said it that way, Zhang Chi’s manner remained neither servile nor overbearing.
“Today is absolutely safe. Forget your identity for the night. From this moment on, you’re not Young Master Xue’s bodyguard—you’re an honored guest of mine. Enjoy yourself. Make sure you have a good time.”
The luxurious, heavy doors slowly opened. Light refracted from the crystal chandeliers, dazzling enough to make everyone momentarily dizzy. Before the creak of the hinges had faded, the handsome men and beautiful women lined up on either side of the entrance called out sweetly in unison, “Welcome, Boss.”
Beneath the chaotic, glittering lights stretched a field of pale flesh—they were completely naked.
Xue Bao Tian abruptly turned toward Zhang Chi, only to find the same shock reflected in his eyes.