“Yan Ye, know what Master Xue likes about you? It’s that you’re simple. Whether someone’s human or a dog, you can tell at a glance without even needing to guess.”
That was the last thing Xue Bao Tian threw out before getting off the train.
Yan Ye knew he had truly angered him this time, so he didn’t dare say much. He obediently followed behind him all the way to the bus stop before finally grabbing the man’s wrist.
His tone carried obvious apology and even a touch of humility. “My car’s parked nearby. You can use it from now on. Today, just give me a ride back to the company, Master Xue.”
Xue Bao Tian narrowed his eyes at Yan Ye for a moment before crooking a finger for the keys. He held them up and glanced at them lazily. “A G-Wagon? A little beneath me, but usable. Where’d you park it?” After Yan Ye pointed it out, Xue Bao Tian casually ordered, “Wait here for me. I’ll drive it over to pick you up.”
After taking two steps, he suddenly turned back. “It’s kinda cold today.”
Yan Ye pulled up the hood of his hoodie and settled it over his head, then removed his own coat and draped it over Xue Bao Tian’s shoulders.
Xue Bao Tian’s icy fingertips lightly scraped beneath Yan Ye’s jaw. Like a hooligan, he raised a brow flirtatiously as thanks.
Five minutes later, a black Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV roared over at full speed, only to fly right past Yan Ye without the slightest hesitation and disappear into the distance. All that remained was the fleeting image of Xue Bao Tian’s cold side profile behind the wheel and the choking dust kicked up by the speeding vehicle.
After eating a mouthful of dirt, Yan Ye’s lips slowly curved upward. Watching the speeding vehicle, he smiled with gentle indulgence. It was exactly as he’d expected. Until Xue Bao Tian had completely vented his anger, there was no way Yan Ye would get a pleasant expression out of him. He truly had gone too far earlier, so he didn’t feel wronged at all. Rubbing his arm through the thin fabric of his shirt, he raised a hand and hailed a taxi.
He wanted to coax Xue Bao Tian but had no idea how, so after pondering for a long while in the taxi, he finally sought help from the girl at the company front desk. Before long, she sent him a whole pile of cute pleading stickers along with various apology messages.
After carefully selecting one, Yan Ye chose a picture of a cat burying its face on the floor and sent it to Xue Bao Tian. He also changed the “dear” in the sample message to “Master Xue.” His finger hovered over the final words, “love you,” for a very long time before he eventually deleted them.
The notification sounded just as the traffic light turned red. Xue Bao Tian pulled out his phone and glanced at it. At first he could still sneer, but the more he read, the more irritated he became. For some reason, it felt like the idiot son he’d personally raised had gone out and embarrassed himself again.
Xue Bao Tian clicked his tongue gloomily. “Fuck. With emotional intelligence like this, will he even find someone in the future?”
He tossed the phone onto the passenger seat. The still-lit screen clearly displayed several lines:
Master Xue, I was wrong. Your generous heart can hold a whole ship, so please tolerate my broken little boat too.
You’re the master and I’m Sun Wukong, so please spare me the tightening spell.
Master Xue, I was really wrong. Please smile again!
The yellow light flashed and turned green. Xue Bao Tian shifted gears and accelerated while muttering under his breath, “Never had the life of a college student, but somehow caught all their stupid habits.”
After driving back to his temporary residence, Xue Bao Tian proactively contacted Slicked-back Hair and paid the first installment of interest. But before he could even catch his breath, a sinister voice came through the phone.
“Young Master Xue, you’ve dragged this out too long. The second payment deadline’s almost here.”
“It’s not here yet, is it?” Xue Bao Tian knew politeness was useless, so he snapped back freely. “Brother Bai can count the days left on his fingers. If that’s not enough, take off your shoes and use your toes too. Count slowly. I’ve got things to do. Hanging up.”
After ending the call, Xue Bao Tian bit down on a cigarette and brooded. The debt to Wang Quan was massive, the interest terrifying. With compound interest piling up, every payment would only become larger. Yan Ye’s money wouldn’t last long, and there was still no clue where Wei Hua had gone. It was like being shoved into a dead-end alley with no exit and no retreat, leaving only despair.
“Worst comes to worst, we all go down together.” The man sprawled on the sofa let out a cold snort. “Only problem is that bastard Wei Hua would get off too easy.”
He visited Xue Kun at the hospital. Seeing the burly bodyguard standing solemnly outside the room finally eased his mind slightly. After comforting his sister a few more times, he left the hospital. By the time he returned to the borrowed apartment, night had already fallen.
He tightened his clothes around himself, cursing his old obsession with flashy fashion. All his winter clothes were thin, good for looking cool and practically useless against the cold. As for Zhang Chi’s clothes, he hated wearing them. They were huge and loose, and worse, they carried that damn beast smell. Just thinking about it irritated him.
He climbed the stairs. By the third floor, warmth gradually seeped into his body. The cold clinging to him collided with the heated air in the stairwell, making Xue Bao Tian shiver.
The apartment he was borrowing sat on the fourth floor. At the landing between the third and fourth floors, he pulled out his keys while climbing with his head lowered. There were thirteen steps in a flight. Xue Bao Tian had counted them before out of boredom. But this time, he stopped on the tenth.
The first thing he saw was a pair of shoes. Black sneakers, cheap brand, not new, and strangely familiar. Above them were jeans and a dirt-yellow padded jacket, followed by an all-too-familiar face.
A few hours ago, Yanyue Security’s impeccably dressed general manager had been polished from head to toe. Now, after changing clothes, he looked once again like a construction worker who spent his days hauling bricks with only a few coins in his pocket.
Yan Ye stood in front of the apartment door and softly called, “Two Hundred.”
Xue Bao Tian climbed the remaining steps and looked Yan Ye up and down. “So General Manager Yan only owns one decent outfit? Or do you just enjoy being a Ninja Turtle, changing shells every day?” Using the key, he lifted Yan Ye’s chin slightly. “Stretch your neck out a bit more. Makes you look even more like one.”
Yan Ye’s gaze remained glued to Xue Bao Tian as he answered honestly, “In winter, I really only have that one coat for going out. But whenever I’m not working, I dress like this. I’m used to it. It’s comfortable.”
Xue Bao Tian merely smiled without comment. He walked past Yan Ye, unlocked the door, and shoved the man behind him before entering. “Stay outside. I’m borrowing this place. I don’t have the right to bring people back.”
Yan Ye was surprisingly obedient. He stood with the toes of his shoes against the threshold and only glanced lightly inside without prying farther.
Xue Bao Tian threw Yan Ye’s coat out to him, put a cigarette between his lips, then went into the kitchen and found a box of instant noodles to soak in hot water.
Fan Xiao’s ridiculously posed solo photograph sat inside a frame. Xue Bao Tian slapped it face-down over the noodle container, using it to trap the steaming heat and delicious smell beneath.
After doing all that, Xue Bao Tian returned to Yan Ye. One stood inside the door, the other outside, separated by no more than the narrow threshold.
He tossed over his lighter. Yan Ye caught it and expertly sparked a flame before holding it toward Xue Bao Tian.
Xue Bao Tian leaned in to light his cigarette. His lowered eyes blurred behind the spreading smoke. Leaning lazily against the doorframe, he glanced at the coat draped over Yan Ye’s arm. “General Manager Yan only has one winter coat? So frugal. What’re you saving all that money for?”
“Saving it for my future partner.”
Xue Bao Tian laughed around the cigarette. “Sorry, I’m using it first. I told you I’m borrowing it. I’ll pay you back later. Won’t stop you from spoiling your future partner.” He waved lazily and started closing the door. “Coat returned. Safe travels.”
Yan Ye’s broad palm suddenly pressed against the door.
“I didn’t come here for the coat.”
“Then what’d you come for?”
“I want you to move in with me.”
The hand raising the cigarette suddenly stopped. A cluster of ash dropped onto Xue Bao Tian’s fingertips. He stayed silent for a moment before flicking it away and curling his lips. “Makes sense. I’m spending General Manager Yan’s money, so naturally I ought to sleep with you. Calling me over every time would be inconvenient. Better to bring me home so you can do whatever you want whenever you want.”
He held the half-smoked cigarette out to Yan Ye. “Hold this for me. I’ll eat my noodles first. Once I’m done, I’ll go with you.”
Yan Ye accepted the cigarette, holding it somewhat awkwardly. “The noodles aren’t ready yet. Give them another two minutes.”
The photo frame was lifted, releasing the fragrant steam all at once. Xue Bao Tian carried the noodle container back to the doorway, still staring at Yan Ye across the narrow threshold.
He lifted a forkful of noodles and nearly burned his lips. Seeing this, Yan Ye placed his coat on the chair by the entrance, took the container from Xue Bao Tian despite his displeased expression, lifted another forkful high, and let the noodles cool before bringing them to his mouth.
When Xue Bao Tian only glared instead of eating, Yan Ye’s expression softened further. “Master Xue, it’s not what you think. I don’t want you to move in because it’ll make… that more convenient.”
Since someone was serving him, Xue Bao Tian naturally wasn’t going to make things difficult for himself. He leaned forward slightly, ate the noodles, then took his cigarette back.
“Then why? Go on.” His drawling voice was lazy, but there was coldness underneath it.
“First, Wang Quan is in that line of business, so naturally he isn’t trustworthy. And that money doesn’t belong entirely to him. The pressure on him probably isn’t any less than the pressure on you, so there’s no predicting what he might do. Besides, Wang Quan isn’t your only creditor. New Year’s almost here, and everyone’s rushing to settle their accounts. You know all this already, so I don’t need to explain much.”
Another forkful of noodles was brought to the thoughtful Xue Bao Tian’s mouth. “So if you live with me and people know we’re close, your creditors will have more reason to hesitate.”
After swallowing the noodles, Xue Bao Tian asked, “That’s the first reason. What’s the second?”
The hand holding the fork freed its thumb to gently wipe the corner of his mouth. Yan Ye continued, “There’s another thing. I don’t understand some of Yanyue Security’s documents and accounts. You know I don’t really have anyone I can ask, so I want Master Xue to help me. You’re good at this. If you stay near me, I can ask whenever I need something explained.”
That genuinely surprised Xue Bao Tian. Yan Ye had always seemed easygoing and hardly ambitious. Even when his stepmother tricked him out of his inheritance, he hadn’t shown much anger. Now that he wanted to study business management, Xue Bao Tian couldn’t tell what he was planning.
After another bite of noodles, he finally asked, “Who actually calls the shots at Yanyue Security right now?”
Yan Ye lightly stamped a foot. The stairwell light came back on, illuminating the sharpness in his eyes. “My cousin Sheng Yu. He’s my stepmother’s older sister’s son. He’s thirty-one this year, ten years older than me. He’s been vice general manager for seven years, and for the past two years he’s handled most of Yanyue’s major and minor affairs.”
The other side had deep roots and years of connections. Yan Ye was alone, inexperienced, and still considered an outsider. Xue Bao Tian thought the situation looked difficult.
He pushed away the next forkful of noodles and took a drag from his cigarette instead. Studying Yan Ye’s expression, he asked, “You want to fight him for control?”
Yan Ye finished the remaining noodles in a few bites, swallowed, then answered frankly, “A little.”
“Thought you didn’t care much about money or material things?” Xue Bao Tian suddenly remembered what Yan Ye had said earlier. “Doing this for your future partner?”
“Not entirely.” Yan Ye threw the empty noodle container into the stairwell trash bag and looked again at Xue Bao Tian leaning against the wall. “Before, I thought having enough to eat, eating well, and having a job that paid me was already happiness. It’s only recently that I understood something. If you want to protect the people you care about, you need power in your own hands.”
The stairwell light went dark again. Cigarette smoke blurred Xue Bao Tian’s face in the dimness. Only after the bitter scent had nearly dispersed did his voice emerge again.
“Protect who? Me?” He laughed. “Don’t you remember telling me before that you didn’t love me, I didn’t love you, and even if you had the ability, you wouldn’t help me?”
His fingers were suddenly entangled with another hand and pulled outward. Xue Bao Tian crossed the threshold and landed in Yan Ye’s arms. The man’s low complaint carried a smile.
“Two Hundred, you only remember what you want to remember. I also told you last night that when I rushed to Chuanqi County to save you, I didn’t even think first. Why don’t you remember that part?”
“Move in with me, okay?” Yan Ye continued coaxing. “For now, Master Xue will have to suffer the indignity of being my personal assistant. Stay with me when I go in and out. That’ll reduce the danger to you as much as possible. I’ll send another person to your father, so you won’t have to worry about his safety. We can look for Wei Hua together. I’m limited in what I can do right now, but two people searching is still better than one.”
A warm embrace was unsuitable for thinking. Xue Bao Tian pushed Yan Ye away, stood in the dim light, and took two deep drags from his cigarette. A few seconds later he crushed it out, brushed the loose hair off his forehead, and said, “I’ll go pack my things. You… wait here.”
Yan Ye caught his hand. “I have everything at home. I’ll come back with you another day to pack.”
After locking the door, Xue Bao Tian walked ahead, his thoughts somewhat tangled. He instinctively reached for another cigarette, cupped the lighter in one hand, and took two irritated drags. Somehow, the more he thought, the more something felt wrong.
“I just fucking realized that every time we do anything, I end up following your plan. Doesn’t matter how we get there. In the end, you always get exactly what you wanted.”
“Master Xue gives me too much credit. We just happen to think alike.” Yan Ye’s gentle voice came from behind him.
“I genuinely feel sorry for your future partner. You’re a fucking pirate ship. Once someone climbs aboard, they’re screwed.” Xue Bao Tian thought for a moment. “Speaking of which, what kind of person did you say you wanted before?”
Footsteps followed closely behind him. “I never had a specific type before. But after meeting you, I think I want someone quiet.”
Xue Bao Tian stopped and turned around to stare at him.
“Fuck!” He laughed around the cigarette. “I think you’d be perfect with a myna bird.”
Author’s Notes: The scene where Xue Bao Tian uses Fan Xiao’s photo frame to cover the noodles references one of the male leads from my other novel Four-Faced Buddha. Xue Bao Tian and Yan Ye are the side couple from Four-Faced Buddha.