Futile Devices Scans

In early winter, Yan City was often filled with fiery sunset clouds.

At dusk, they seemed to ignite from the horizon itself, surging like waves. With one shimmering sweep, they splashed half the sky in brilliant rosy light.

Xue Bao Tian stood by the window watching for a long while before finally squeezing out one 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 once, Zhang Chi finished two more perfectly standard reps before stopping, breathing heavily as he thought it over. “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 aloud from the screen. “‘You and the sunset fall together into the river of my heart.’” Then he shook his head. “Not this one.”

“This one’s good.” Zhang Chi’s hand rested lightly on the back of Xue Bao Tian’s neck, gently stroking it as he murmured softly, “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 up, 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?”

Opening the beer, Zhang Chi took a drink to ease some of the heat from exercising and replied with a smile, “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 now 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 since I was little. Learned boxing, movements, routines. Started working as a stunt double at fourteen. Changed careers at seventeen.”

“Why?”

“I got too tall. Too easy to break continuity.”

Zhang Chi set down the 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 pretending to be difficult. “I guess I can take a look.”

Using one hand to push himself off the floor, Zhang Chi sprang up. The muscles on his arms bulged beautifully, every line clearly defined, stretching from his shoulders to his elbows and down to his wrists. Every inch of him seemed packed with inexhaustible strength.

Covered in a light sheen of sweat and draped in sunset glow, he looked like a powerful yet gentle beast as he sat beside Xue Bao Tian.

Xue Bao Tian was briefly distracted before shifting his attention to the phone. The video quality wasn’t great. A bald martial monk wearing only rough cloth pants was fighting several people. Though most shots were distant or from behind, Xue Bao Tian recognized at a glance that the monk was Zhang Chi.

Back then, his body wasn’t as massive as it 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 movie scenes, fighting a hundred enemies alone.

“How old were you then?” Xue Bao Tian asked lazily.

“Seventeen.”

“And then you switched careers to hauling bricks at construction sites?”

The beer paused midway to Zhang Chi’s lips before he quietly answered with an “Mm.”

The video wasn’t 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. Afraid people would think I was a freak. Besides, there wasn’t anyone I liked around me. I’m not into muscular types. Feels like touching myself if I grab one.”

Xue Bao Tian snickered and reached over to grope Zhang Chi once. “Yeah, not pleasant to touch. Feels like fondling a rock at the bottom of a latrine pit.”

Zhang Chi grabbed that wrist, then slowly traced upward along his arm, landing on Xue Bao Tian’s shoulder before sliding down to his waist. “Know why I brought you back to the construction site that day?”

Xue Bao Tian immediately started grinding his teeth.

“Because your waist feels both soft and resilient when touched, and you smell good too.”

His palm rubbed over the fabric of the clothes, 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 quote was 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 just in a normal employer-employee relationship now. Even if Master Xue wanted to use workplace casting-couch rules, 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 and flicked one out from the bottom, biting it between his lips. “The first day of next month is the day after tomorrow. Huang Song called me just now.”

“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. The grass in Yan City still carried traces of green in early winter, the kind of lawn maintained purely by throwing money at it. Now several arrogant tire tracks ruined the luxurious beauty of the grounds, making the gardener nearby click his tongue repeatedly.

Xue Bao Tian pushed open the car door, stepping onto the lawn. Lazily, he hooked one finger over his sunglasses and lowered them slightly, looking 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 on the surface of his face was dazzlingly bright as he warmly embraced Huang Song, exchanging greetings like old friends.

Two devils, two masks—both hiding their true intentions perfectly.

“Young Master looks great. Haven’t seen you in just a few days, and you’ve become 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. 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 formalities; he simply usually couldn’t be bothered. Now, however, he tucked away his fangs and played the role of the refined gentleman. Beneath the humility lingered a trace of arrogance—enough that no one dared underestimate him, yet not enough to make him 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, where’s your bodyguard?”

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 coldly. “Don’t you even know how to greet President Huang when you see him?”

In occasions like this, assistants or bodyguards were generally not brought into the spotlight. If they were, it either meant they had earned favor—or there was another hidden reason.

Under the probing gazes of the crowd, Zhang Chi walked forward unhurriedly. Taking a subordinate position, he gave Xue Bao Tian all the face he could. “President Huang, I’m honored you still remember me.”

“Surname 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 demeanor remained neither servile nor overbearing.

“Today’s absolutely safe here. You can forget your identity. From this moment on, you’re not Young Master’s bodyguard—you’re an honored guest of mine, Huang. Enjoy yourself. Make sure you have a good time.”

The luxurious, heavy doors slowly opened. The refracted light from the crystal chandeliers was dazzling enough to make one momentarily dizzy. Before the creaking of the door hinges faded away, the handsome men and beautiful women lined up on either side of the entrance all called out sweetly in unison:

“Welcome, Boss.”

Under the chaotic, glittering lights was a field of pale naked flesh—they were completely unclothed.

Xue Bao Tian abruptly turned to look at Zhang Chi, only to find the same shock reflected in his eyes.

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