“You saved me again. Do you need me to sleep with you to repay you?”
The wind scattered the words the instant they left his lips. By the time they reached Yan Ye’s ears, only the faint tail end remained, yet it still stirred a lingering itch inside him.
He walked over, wrapped one arm around Xue Bao Tian, buried his face in the crook of his neck, and inhaled softly before speaking.
“Two Hundred, I really hurt.”
Only then did Xue Bao Tian realize that ever since taking that blow, Yan Ye hadn’t raised his left arm again. Even earlier, when the wallet had been tossed back to him, he had caught it one-handed.
“You got injured?” Xue Bao Tian traced down Yan Ye’s left arm to his back. Seeing the slight furrow in the man’s brows, he immediately pulled his hand away again.
“Second Brother Bai lost his temper and didn’t hold back. Used about eighty or ninety percent of his strength.” Yan Ye leaned closer while carefully keeping his measure, almost hanging off Xue Bao Tian. “Good thing I protected you. I was terrified back then.”
The stiffness in Xue Bao Tian’s back softened slightly. The warmth against his neck didn’t suit a night this cold. He shoved Yan Ye away with a single finger.
“President Yan really knows how to claim credit and act cute. Makes it impossible not to be touched. How about you pull out an erhu? Let’s see if I can squeeze out two tears.”
Elio’s Notes: The erhu is a traditional Chinese two-string instrument famous for its emotional, sorrowful sound. Xue Bao Tian is sarcastically telling him to stop acting pitiful.
The moment the words fell, Xue Bao Tian turned and walked away. Yan Ye followed behind him smiling, rambling softly.
“I can’t play erhu, but I can play harmonica. I used to sit on hillsides and play all the time. Later, my master’s son found out the girl he liked had fallen for me instead, so he smashed my harmonica. I never played again after that.”
Xue Bao Tian stopped and turned back impatiently.
“Stop fucking babbling. What medicine are we buying?”
Only then did Yan Ye notice they had stopped in front of a pharmacy. The light from the sign cast a pale green glow across the snow.
As though something soft inside him had been struck, Yan Ye’s smile turned gentler still.
“I’ll go buy it. You wouldn’t know what to get.”
He pushed open the pharmacy door and bought bruise ointment. While paying, Yan Ye glanced at the shelf full of condoms in different sizes and types. After hesitating a moment, he finally pulled cash from his wallet and paid.
Chuanqi Town had train service, but not many departures. Only one train to Yan City left each morning, meaning the two of them would have to stay the night in town.
When they pushed open the hotel room door, even the largest hotel in town was nothing special. The sheets were a little whiter, the television a little larger, but the stale unpleasant smell in the air remained.
When checking in, Xue Bao Tian didn’t make a fuss. Yan Ye only booked one room, and he simply followed him inside.
After shrugging off his coat and sitting on the bed, he tilted his head up and asked, “Need me to shower first?”
Yan Ye glanced at Xue Bao Tian’s cold expression without answering. He stripped off his own coat one-handed, then tugged his shirt loose, fingers undoing the buttons. Firm muscles appeared and disappeared through the shifting fabric, half-hidden like a pipa behind a screen—damn attractive to look at.
Xue Bao Tian averted his gaze and began taking off his own clothes too. He had only rolled up the hem of his hoodie when Yan Ye immediately pulled it back down, covering that tempting patch of pale skin once more.
“You can’t take it off. If you do, I really won’t be able to hold back.”
The shirtless man’s eyes surged with restrained desire as he lay face-down on the bed.
“Help me apply the medicine.”
The muffled voice actually surprised Xue Bao Tian a little.
Holding the ointment, he stood beside the bed staring at the frighteningly swollen bruise across Yan Ye’s back. His heart jolted hard.
He squeezed white ointment onto his fingers, warmed it between his palms, then gently rubbed it over the bruise. Hearing Yan Ye suck in a sharp breath, his fingers trembled and he instinctively eased up.
“Press harder.” Yan Ye smiled and looked back at him. “Bruised blood under the skin has to be worked loose.”
Xue Bao Tian lowered his eyes and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Then grit your teeth and bear with it, President Yan. The walls are thin here. Don’t get us reported for pornography.”
Gradually he began using more strength.
Yan Ye truly didn’t make a sound. A fine layer of sweat gathered at his temples. Xue Bao Tian couldn’t help himself and grabbed a tissue to wipe it away, but before he could withdraw his hand, Yan Ye caught it and pressed it against his forehead, rubbing sweat all over his palm in an annoyingly sticky mess.
Xue Bao Tian clicked his tongue but didn’t pull away. Yan Ye had taken this injury for him, after all. He at least had to repay the favor, even if it irritated him.
“How’d you know I was in Chuanqi County?” Xue Bao Tian asked while rubbing in the medicine.
Yan Ye squeezed his hand lightly before answering.
“I’ve had people following you this whole time. Yesterday they lost you at the train station. All they knew was that you seemed to have bought a ticket to Chuanqi Town.”
“The two guys tailing me were yours? I worked hard as hell shaking them off.”
“Mm. Ever since your family’s accident, I’ve had people watching over you. You’ve made too many enemies. I couldn’t just let someone get to you.”
“Fuck, your people were protecting me? Then why the hell did I still get splashed with paint twice and cornered by Second Brother Bai in an alley?”
“The paint never actually hit you either time. And when Second Brother Bai cornered you, the police showed up to break it up.” Yan Ye’s voice sounded unbelievably gentle in the dim light. “Two Hundred, solving problems doesn’t always require fists. Using violence to determine winners and losers is the crudest method.”
Xue Bao Tian pressed harder against the bruise and sneered.
“Easy for you to say. Then what’s with the injury on your back? Weren’t you the one saying you didn’t want to get involved in my family’s mess?”
The hand beneath his forehead seemed to brush against something soft. Yan Ye laughed quietly.
“Chuanqi Town is Wang Quan’s hometown. It’s where he built his power. The second I heard you’d bought a ticket here, I panicked. I found out Shunyi Inn was one of their hideouts. Honestly, I wasn’t thinking about morality or feelings or anything else. I didn’t even think at all. I just came rushing over because I was afraid they’d lured you here to trap you.”
The skin beneath Xue Bao Tian’s palm felt hot.
Suddenly he craved a cigarette fiercely.
Pulling his hand free from beneath Yan Ye’s forehead, he wiped the sweat off on his clothes in disgust before sticking a cigarette between his lips.
“You think I’m that stupid? That I’d blindly walk into a trap? If you hadn’t shown up, once I realized Wei Hua wasn’t here, I would’ve gone straight back to Yan City. Didn’t need you pulling this Calabash Brothers saving Grandpa routine.”
Elio’s Notes: “Calabash Brothers saving Grandpa” refers to the famous Chinese cartoon Calabash Brothers [葫芦娃], where the brothers repeatedly rush in one by one to rescue their grandfather. It’s often used jokingly to describe someone charging in recklessly to save another person.
Yan Ye smiled obediently.
“Mm. I was reckless. Not nearly as clever as Master Xue.”
Xue Bao Tian lit the cigarette but didn’t smoke it. Holding it between his fingers, he stayed silent a long while before finally speaking.
“Yan Ye, forget our weird relationship for a second—even if there’d actually been something between us, what you’ve done already would count as rare enough. Aside from the way you act in bed, you’re not really a scumbag. Don’t carry around guilt over this. Not being able to help me wasn’t your fault. Tomorrow we part ways. You don’t need to bother with my problems anymore.”
Yan Ye rolled over and sat up. The movement tugged painfully at the bruised muscles on his back, making his expression twitch.
He pulled out a tissue and carefully wiped the ointment from Xue Bao Tian’s hands, cleaning every line in his palm and every finger gap thoroughly.
As he wiped, he said:
“If Wei Hua managed to make the fraud this flawless, then he must’ve planned it for a long time. Someone fleeing overseas with that much money definitely prepared an escape route beforehand. I think there’s a high chance he’s already left the country.”
“But there’s no record of him leaving.”
“There are plenty of illegal routes across the southwest border. I’ve already asked contacts over there to keep watch and see if they can find any traces.”
Xue Bao Tian pulled his hand back and sincerely thanked him.
“Thanks… uh…”
He suddenly couldn’t find a suitable way to address Yan Ye.
The two of them had rolled around in bed together countless times, so “brother” felt wrong. Calling him “grandson” obviously didn’t fit now either. “President Yan” was reserved specifically for sarcasm.
Their relationship had always been twisted and abnormal. Trying to speak properly only made Xue Bao Tian feel uncomfortable all over.
Yan Ye rescued him from the awkwardness.
“How about you keep calling me Brother Chi?”
Xue Bao Tian laughed around the cigarette.
“Grandson, I’m seven years older than you. Show some respect.”
Seeing Xue Bao Tian smile made Yan Ye’s chest ache with warmth. Suppressing the itch in his heart, he pulled a bank card from his clothes and handed it over.
The smile slowly disappeared from Xue Bao Tian’s face.
He stared at the card coldly.
“President Yan, I’m carrying at least sixty million in debt. Is there enough in that card?”
“There’s only a little over three million. It’s my salary and bonuses from the past two years. Before my father died, he also transferred some shares and assets into my name, but I can’t touch them. Somehow my stepmother found out about my sexuality. She convinced my father that I was still young and said she’d hold the shares for me temporarily until I married and had children, then she’d return everything to me. But I’ll never marry. I’ll never have children. So naturally I’ll never get any of it.”
Yan Ye pressed the card into Xue Bao Tian’s hand.
“Use this money first to pay Wang Quan’s interest and buy us some time. Then we can search for Wei Hua properly.”
“And besides…” Yan Ye picked up the lighter from the table and relit the cigarette that had already gone out between Xue Bao Tian’s fingers. The jumping flame reflected in his eyes but couldn’t illuminate the unreadable darkness inside them. “Even though I only hold the empty title of Yanyue’s general manager, Wang Quan still has to fear me somewhat. And who knows who’ll really control Yanyue in the future? As long as I’m protecting you, he won’t dare do anything to you for now.”
Xue Bao Tian flicked the cigarette ash repeatedly. Ash scattered messily across the cement floor, just like the chaos inside his heart.
“What do you need me to do?” He looked at Yan Ye. “Call you Brother Chi?”
Yan Ye said nothing, merely glancing involuntarily toward Xue Bao Tian’s waist.
Xue Bao Tian barked furiously:
“Fuck! Is that all your brain can think about?!”
Yan Ye wiped a hand down his face helplessly and laughed.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me either. The moment I see you, that’s all I can think about.”
Carefully, he pulled Xue Bao Tian into his arms and held him loosely.
“I’m not taking advantage of your situation. Even back when Master Xue was protecting me, this was all I thought about too.”
“What if I refuse?”
Yan Ye’s voice turned even stickier and softer.
“Master Xue, have a little pity on me.”
Xue Bao Tian inhaled deeply from the cigarette.
“Found anyone else these past few months?”
“No.”
“Bullshit. Not with the way you are.”
“I had two missions. And honestly, your family’s mess left me in no mood for anything else.” Yan Ye cautiously tightened his arms around him just a little. His hoarse voice carried temptation like the apple in Eden. “From beginning to end, Master Xue is the only one who’s ever slept with me.”
Xue Bao Tian crushed the cigarette out between his fingers and viciously grabbed Yan Ye by the jaw.
“Then Master Xue will show some mercy and keep sleeping with you a few more days. Once I find Wei Hua, we’re even!”
“Okay.”
Outside, the wind and snow intensified.
And finally, the embrace tightened completely.
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