With one foot inside the doorway and the other still outside, Xue Bao Tian stopped in his tracks.
His gaze swept over the completely naked men and women, and he gave a mocking laugh. Then the foot he had already stepped through the door withdrew again.
He pulled out a cigarette and bit it between his lips. Zhang Chi, perceptive as ever, immediately offered him a flame. Xue Bao Tian lowered his eyes and took a deep drag, and only after the curling smoke had dispersed did he hook up the corners of his lips and say lazily, “President Huang, didn’t everyone involved in that Haitian Shengyan mess get arrested?”
Elio’s Notes: Haitian Shengyan (海天盛筵) was a high-end lifestyle exhibition in Sanya that became notorious in 2013 after online allegations linked it to lavish private parties and sexual activity. The organizers denied that the alleged parties were part of the official event.
Huang Song had been quietly watching Xue Bao Tian’s expression the entire time. The moment this notoriously wild and reckless second-generation heir—rumored to be indiscriminate in his tastes—stopped at the door, faint creases had already appeared between Huang Song’s brows.
Huang Song laughed loudly, his tone easy. “They’re just service staff. The format’s a little more innovative, that’s all. I thought Young Master Xue would like it.”
Xue Bao Tian bit the cigarette filter flat, cold light hidden in his eyes. “Too fucking obscene. They look like slabs of raw pork hanging around. Not a shred of aesthetic sense.”
“Now that Young Master Xue mentions it, they really are a little hard on the eyes.” Huang Song waved a hand broadly. “All of you, go put some clothes on.”
The men and women scattered at once, and Huang Song’s secretary bent slightly at the waist, respectfully gesturing for them to enter.
Xue Bao Tian’s jaw shifted faintly as he glanced at Zhang Chi.
Zhang Chi still wore that same mild, unhurried expression—neither cold nor warm. After meeting Xue Bao Tian’s gaze, he rested a hand lightly against his waist and gave a slight push, guiding him inside. “Don’t be afraid.” Xue Bao Tian’s lashes trembled when the low murmur brushed his ear, but then he raised his eyes and immediately returned to his usual arrogant, unruly demeanor. A gathering this private was absolutely impossible to be clean.
By the time Xue Bao Tian sat down at the card table, those men and women had already filed down the spiral staircase. They were dressed now, but only in thin, gauzy fabric that half concealed and half revealed them. Wearing clothes was practically the same as wearing nothing, except that the teasing glimpses only made them more enticing.
It was not as though Xue Bao Tian had never seen scenes like this before. He had spent more than ten years moving in these circles, and situations skirting the edges of legality had long since become commonplace. If something at this level could still make him lose his composure, that would truly be embarrassing.
A man stood on one side of him and a woman on the other. The young, slender man lightly rubbed the bare skin of his waist against Xue Bao Tian’s elbow, while the woman bent close to chat with him, the sheer fabric over her chest hanging low enough to leave the view completely unobstructed.
Xue Bao Tian instinctively looked toward Zhang Chi. By this point, he had practically been conditioned into a reflex: if his choices were a woman or Zhang Chi, he could only choose Zhang Chi. Otherwise, that idiot might decide he no longer cared whether Xue Bao Tian lived or died.
Sure enough, a trace of gloom had crept into Zhang Chi’s mild expression. “Fuck,” Xue Bao Tian muttered. After thinking it over, he pushed the woman farther away and kept only the slender man beside him.
Across the table, Huang Song let out an amused “Oh?” “Young Master Xue has refined tastes.” He beckoned to someone. “Bring another decent-looking one over. Young Master Xue’s luck is running hot tonight. If he wins, they can share in the good fortune.”
Sure enough, Xue Bao Tian’s luck at the card table was excellent, with Huang Song practically feeding him money as he deliberately let him win hand after hand. Cigarette hanging from his lips, Xue Bao Tian lazily instructed the man beside him, “Blow on the cards for Master Xue.”
The fair-skinned little lamb bent down and gently blew at the raised corner of the cards before saying obediently, “Young Master Xue is definitely winning this hand.”
Xue Bao Tian smiled carelessly. “If I win, I’ll reward you.”
The last card was revealed—seven, eight, nine, straight flush. Xue Bao Tian won spectacularly.
He put out his cigarette, gathered up the chips with a smug expression, and casually picked out several high-value ones to tip the people beside him.
Normally he would stuff them into women’s bras, but the two men beside him were barely dressed, with nothing on their upper bodies except decorative chest chains hanging messily across them. Clicking his tongue, Xue Bao Tian shoved the chips into their underwear instead.
Getting carried away, he grabbed another handful and turned around, intending to stuff them at Zhang Chi standing behind him. His fingertips had already brushed Zhang Chi’s clothes when Zhang Chi shifted aside and avoided him.
Xue Bao Tian lifted his eyes, displeasure written all over his face. He pulled out another cigarette and twisted slightly in his seat, waiting for Zhang Chi to light it. One of the little lambs nearby eagerly rushed to offer a flame instead, but Xue Bao Tian waved him off without giving him any face. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Zhang Chi slowly bent down, pressed his thumb to the lighter, and brought the flame over.
The flickering light reflected two flames of anger in Xue Bao Tian’s eyes. He lowered his voice. “Zhang Chi, are you fucking stupid? What kind of bodyguard gives his own boss attitude?”
Zhang Chi said nothing. The flame in his hand suddenly wavered, startling Xue Bao Tian.
“Fuck.” The word squeezed out between Xue Bao Tian’s teeth. “At a place like this, I have to keep someone beside me. You don’t allow women, and now men aren’t okay either? What, you want to strip naked and stand beside me yourself?”
Zhang Chi lifted his thumb slightly, extinguishing the flame. His expression remained as frozen as winter soil.
Xue Bao Tian was relying on Zhang Chi tonight, so he forcibly suppressed the fire in his chest and had no choice but to coax him. The curses rolled around in his mouth before emerging as a low murmur instead. “I’m a straight man. What the fuck are you getting jealous over? Those two beside me look like snake demons who kidnapped somebody’s grandpa. What’s attractive about them? If I ever fall so low I can only look for men, it’ll definitely be you, Brother Chi.”
Zhang Chi raised an eyebrow slightly. His gaze dragged heavily across Xue Bao Tian’s face, and his expression immediately improved.
“What are Young Master Xue and Xiao Zhang whispering about?” Huang Song asked with a smile from across the card table. “Something the rest of us aren’t allowed to hear?”
Seeing Zhang Chi’s expression ease, Xue Bao Tian inwardly sighed, This is killing me. He turned back toward Huang Song and instantly resumed his arrogant demeanor. “I’m bored. Let Zhang’er play a few hands for me.”
He gave up his seat and pressed Zhang Chi down into the chair. When Zhang Chi said he did not know how to play, Xue Bao Tian patted his shoulder twice. “Just play however you want. If you lose, it’s on me.”
“It can count as my loss too,” Huang Song said pleasantly, treating Zhang Chi with obvious courtesy.
Xue Bao Tian clicked his tongue, his thoughts turning vicious. Maybe he should simply hand Zhang Chi over to that bastard Huang Song and let Zhang Chi sleep with him. That would solve two problems at once.
The thought was oddly satisfying, and a sly grin crept over Xue Bao Tian’s face, though what he said aloud was, “No need for President Huang to worry about him. My person—I protect him.”
Zhang Chi played three or five hands and won more than he lost. Anyone with eyes could tell that Huang Song and the others were deliberately letting him win, treating Zhang Chi like Xue Bao Tian’s dog and humoring him to keep the master pleased. Once the card game ended, dinner had already been laid out in the dining room, the table filled with exquisite delicacies and extravagant dishes.
Xue Bao Tian took his seat, leaving the place beside him empty. Huang Song gestured toward it with his chin. “Everyone who comes here is a guest. Xiao Zhang, sit.”
Xue Bao Tian tapped two fingers lightly against the table and looked up at Zhang Chi. “President Huang’s hospitality is hard to refuse. Sit.”
Zhang Chi did not sit immediately. Instead, he walked over to a server and took the wine vessel from his hands. “I’ll pour.”
His hand seemed to slip accidentally, and the already-decanted red wine spilled all over the floor.
Apologizing aloud while enduring several scoldings from Xue Bao Tian about being “unfit for proper occasions,” Zhang Chi quietly caught the brief flash of ugliness that crossed Huang Song’s face before it smoothed back into composure. Then he casually took another bottle from the wine rack.
“How about switching to this one? My boss drinks it often.”
Xue Bao Tian immediately agreed. “Open it and fill everyone’s glasses. Don’t waste time.”
Zhang Chi circled the table pouring wine before finally taking the seat beside Xue Bao Tian. As though completely unaware of propriety, he raised his glass first and downed three cups in succession as an apology for his earlier mistake. Only after the burning liquor had settled in his stomach for a while did he lean close to Xue Bao Tian’s ear and murmur, “There’s nothing wrong with this bottle. It’s safe to drink.”
With Zhang Chi’s assurance, Xue Bao Tian finally raised his own glass without worry. A smooth stream of polished pleasantries rolled from his tongue, but beneath them he repeatedly slipped warnings aimed at Huang Song, making his position perfectly clear: If others don’t provoke me, I won’t provoke them. But if you, Huang Song, don’t know your place, I’ll use that recording to peel three layers of skin off you.
Huang Song’s expression shifted several times, unreadable for a moment, before he ultimately smiled and smoothed things over, putting the matter aside and turning the conversation back toward business and pleasure.
Feeling that he had successfully beaten the grass to startle the snake—and gotten excellent results from it—Xue Bao Tian let down much of his guard. Amid endless flattery and praise, he repeatedly raised his glass and drank quite a lot.
After several rounds of food and wine, when the atmosphere was at its liveliest, Huang Song quietly signaled his secretary with a glance.
Three to five minutes later, lightly dressed attendants pushed open the dining-room doors. Following the same assignments from the earlier card game, they walked to the guests’ sides and obediently stood in place.
Beside Xue Bao Tian stood the little lamb who had blown on his cards earlier, while another soft little lamb took position beside Zhang Chi.
“We’ll let them eat after we’re done eating.”
Fuck. Xue Bao Tian cursed Huang Song inwardly for being such a piece of shit, making people pick at their leftovers. But before he could finish the thought, the male and female attendants suddenly knelt beside their assigned guests in unison. Their hands moved expertly to the trouser zippers—pull, part—and then their heads lowered.
“Holy fuck!” Xue Bao Tian barked sharply, slapping the attendant across the face and shoving him away.
He hurriedly turned toward Zhang Chi, intending to help him out—only to find that bastard staring wide-eyed at the person kneeling in front of him, neither struggling nor resisting. The fucker actually looked like he was enjoying it.