After leaving the highway, the car turned onto the city roads. The speed dropped, and Xue Bao Tian lowered the window a crack. In the cool evening breeze drifting through the gap, he finally spoke for the first time since getting into the car.
“Is threatening and intimidating people what you guys normally do for work?”
The man driving lounged in his seat without a shred of proper posture, practically sprawled across the driver’s side. He let out a long yawn before answering, “Young Master Xue, our security company is a legitimate business. Completely legal. Whatever argument you had with Yan Ye, please don’t take it out on me. I couldn’t help it either. I just finished an overnight assignment and haven’t even slept yet before he ordered me to bring you here.”
Looking out the window, Xue Bao Tian snorted. “Don’t make it sound so nice. You’re not bringing me here—you’re hauling me here.”
“I had no choice, Young Master Xue. Please understand. The boss gave a direct order. He had to see you tonight. I’m just a wage earner too. I’ve got an elderly mother to support.”
“You were the one who helped me out at the hotpot restaurant last time, weren’t you?”
The driver smiled. “I wouldn’t dare claim I helped. Without Yan Ye’s instructions, I wouldn’t have made a move.”
“A favor is still a favor. What’s your name?”
“Zhou Yi Ming. You’re too polite, Young Master Xue.”
“Call me Brother Xue. I’m not some young master anymore.”
Zhou Yi Ming was straightforward enough to accept immediately. “Alright. Then consider today our official introduction, Brother Xue. Since I’m one of Yan Ye’s people, that makes us family.”
“Fuck.”
Xue Bao Tian burst out laughing.
“Has your boss being an idiot damaged your brain too? Family, my ass. Your boss hasn’t even learned how to write the character for person properly yet. He’s pretty good at writing too much, though. That little extra stroke in the middle really makes him a piece of work.”
It took Zhou Yi Ming a while to understand. When he finally did, he laughed so hard the car bounced.
“Brother Xue, is this how you usually insult Yan Ye? No wonder he likes you.”
“Shut up.”
Xue Bao Tian glanced at his phone.
“Why isn’t Yan Ye answering?”
“He got called out on a last-minute assignment. He’s not allowed to answer calls during operations. He had someone from his team contact me and tell me to bring you over.”
As they entered the city’s entertainment district, traffic slowed further. Zhou Yi Ming glanced at the neon-lit streets outside and suddenly grinned mischievously.
“Brother Xue, you’re not angry because Yan Ye came here on assignment, are you? There’s really nothing between him and that boy from the club. The other guy keeps pestering Yan Ye because he wants to sleep with him.”
Xue Bao Tian slowly turned his head. “Your General Manager Yan sure lives a fucking exciting life.”Pleasure dens and dens of temptation—those were worlds Xue Bao Tian knew better than anyone.
Leaning lazily against the private room sofa, Zhou Yi Ming groaned. “Brother Xue, if you keep this up, Yan Ye is going to kill me.”
A cigarette between his lips, Xue Bao Tian draped one arm over the shoulder of the woman beside him. His thumb gently stroked her smooth cheek. He told her to pour him a drink and exchanged a few soft words before remembering Zhou Yi Ming was still waiting for an answer.
“You brought me here. If you were worried about Yan Ye killing you, you wouldn’t have done that.”
Zhou Yi Ming chuckled. “Yan Ye won’t be finished for another hour. During that time, if Brother Xue helps him solve his little problem, I get to watch the show. Everybody wins. The only problem is that you hired a hostess to drink with you. That’s throwing me straight into the fire.”
“A show?”Xue Bao Tian looked at him.
“What kind of show do you want to see?”Zhou Yi Ming stretched both hands apart in a ripping motion.
“Ripping a love rival to pieces.”Xue Bao Tian laughed right along with him, though laziness and malice lurked beneath his smile.
“Fine. Bring him over. Master Xue will give you a show worth watching.”
Not long afterward, a handsome male escort pushed open the door and entered the private room. He smiled politely and called them “boss,” but there was still a trace of wildness in his eyes.
Xue Bao Tian patted the empty space beside him. “Come sit.”
The young man glanced at the woman in Xue Bao Tian’s arms. For a split second, disgust flashed across his face before disappearing just as quickly.
He sat down, bringing a gust of air with him. No overpowering cologne. No flashy scent.
Noting the mere finger’s width between them, Xue Bao Tian smiled. “What’s your name?”
“Bai Yu.”Short and direct.
Xue Bao Tian rested his other arm across the back of the sofa. It looked as though he was putting an arm around the boy, but he never actually touched him.
“Pour a drink. Then drink three glasses yourself.”
While pouring, Bai Yu replied, “Let’s get one thing straight, boss. I only drink with clients. I don’t go out with them.”
Xue Bao Tian glanced toward Zhou Yi Ming, who was grinning maliciously in the corner. Removing his cigarette, he spoke lazily through the drifting smoke.
“In your line of work, anyone who says they don’t go out with clients usually just hasn’t negotiated a high enough price. Though every now and then there’s one or two proud types. Those people end up the worst off. They get hurt over some fake affection. Might as well make some real money instead.”
Both the woman in his arms and the young man beside him fell silent for a moment before pretending nothing had happened.
After downing three drinks, Bai Yu asked, “Boss, want to play a game?”
Xue Bao Tian glanced over the game props on the table and pressed down the corners of his lips.
“Played all of these already. Let me show you something more interesting.”
Pulling out his phone, he opened a chat window and scrolled back through a long history until he found a particular message.
“Look at this apology text somebody sent me. Isn’t it more entertaining than any game?”
Two heads leaned closer to the screen.
The woman read aloud: “Master Xue, I was wrong. Your generosity is vast enough to hold ships, so please spare room for this little broken boat of mine. You’re the master and I’m Sun Wu Kong, so please stop chanting the Tightening Spell. Master Xue, I was really wrong. Please stop crying and smile again.”
After finishing, she looked up. “Boss, did a kid send this to you?”
“Twenty-one. Twenty-two after New Year.”
Bai Yu snorted. “What an idiot.”
Xue Bao Tian nearly choked on his cigarette from laughing.
“There are plenty more.”He scrolled through several more embarrassingly clingy messages.
“Boss, you’re so cold when you reply, and he still keeps coming back for more. Looks like he really likes you.”
The woman became increasingly interested and started scrolling through the messages herself.
Bai Yu curled his lip. “What a simp.”
Xue Bao Tian raised his chin. “Not your type?”
The client beside him wasn’t touching him or saying anything dirty. Bai Yu found himself relaxing despite himself and downed another drink.
“I hate people like that the most.”
“Fuck, so do I.”
Xue Bao Tian clinked glasses with him.
“It’s like getting an advertisement in the middle of a movie. And it’s one of those damn 180-second unskippable ads.”
For the first time all night, Bai Yu genuinely smiled. “Boss, you’re pretty interesting.”
Xue Bao Tian leisurely topped off his drink. “So what if the boss wants to sleep with you?”
The liquor in Bai Yu’s glass sloshed. Instantly reverting to professional mode, he replied, “Please be understanding, boss. I’ll happily drink a few more glasses with you.”
“What if Yan Ye wanted to sleep with you?”
The question came out of nowhere. The liquid trembled more violently and splashed over the rim, wetting Bai Yu’s pale fingers.
“What do you mean by that?”
For a drinking companion, his tone was unusually sharp.
Xue Bao Tian handed him a napkin and drawled lazily. “All those messages you just read? Yan Ye sent them.”
The youthful-looking boy’s eyes flew wide open. “Yan Ye sent those to you? Impossible. He’s not that kind of person.”
“Idiot. Simp. Yan Ye.” Xue Bao Tian nodded cheerfully. “Every one of those descriptions fits.”
Bai Yu still couldn’t believe it. “Are we talking about the same Yan Ye?”
Xue Bao Tian took back his phone from the hostess and tucked the cigarette between his teeth. “Come on. Master Xue will prove it.”
Selecting a voice message entirely out of context, he tapped play. Yan Ye’s deep, gentle voice flowed from the speaker:
“Mm. Thank you, Master Xue, for agreeing to sleep with me a few more times.”
Bai Yu froze. That voice was far too familiar. It was the voice he thought about day and night.
But why did it sound so submissive? So clingy?
Was this really the same Yan Ye who had solved his problems with a single hand? The same man whose gaze was as sharp as a blade during confrontations? The young head of security who made people feel safe just by standing nearby?
Bai Yu heard his own broken voice ask:
“You actually… sleep with him?”
“Of course.” Xue Bao Tian rubbed the woman’s waist. “Hardest person in the world to get into bed. A body full of hard muscles. Feels like touching unfinished construction work. No feel whatsoever.”
The woman chimed in at once. “I don’t like gym-built muscles either. They look too fake.”
Xue Bao Tian kissed her temple before turning back to Bai Yu. “Want to hear more?”
Bai Yu downed another drink miserably. The light in his eyes visibly dimmed.
“No need.”
Then, as if realizing something, he glared at Xue Bao Tian.
“Wait. Are you showing off?”
Now Xue Bao Tian got angry.
“Showing off what? Showing off how pathetic he is? Showing off how annoying he is?”
Bai Yu was left speechless. After draining another drink, he muttered resentfully,
“How can he be this kind of person? He’s nothing like I imagined.”
Xue Bao Tian patted him on the shoulder and leaned closer conspiratorially. “There’s more. The guy’s totally indiscriminate. I met his ex this morning. Cute kid. Even better looking than you. Then he abandoned him. Pretty messed up, right?”
Bai Yu’s brows knitted tighter and tighter. Just as he was about to speak, someone interrupted.
Zhou Yi Ming couldn’t take it anymore. The show had been entertaining, but he still wanted to stay alive.
“Brother Xue, it’s getting late. We should go.”
Xue Bao Tian was still enjoying himself.
“Not yet.”
Zhou Yi Ming immediately changed tactics. “The operation’s almost finished. If Yan Ye doesn’t see you when he gets back, he’s going to take it out on me. Brother Xue, have mercy on a working man.”
With drooping eyelids and a thoroughly annoyed expression, Xue Bao Tian shoved aside his wine glass and crooked a finger.
“Wallet.”
Zhou Yi Ming froze, then hurriedly handed over his wallet.
Xue Bao Tian opened it, pulled out a stack of cash, and set it in front of Bai Yu. Pointing at Zhou Yi Ming, he said, “He’s the one who should be paying you. Watching the show wasn’t free.”
Then he pulled out his own wallet and handed a stack of bills to the woman. “Master Xue may be poor now, but no matter how poor I get, I won’t shortchange a woman. Remember my kindness. Next time I come, I’ll ask for you again.”
After hearing her cheerful thanks, Xue Bao Tian rose and headed for the door. Just before leaving, he glanced back at the dejected Bai Yu and clicked his tongue. Turning around, he crouched in front of him.
“There are good men out there. But honestly, it’s hard to find them in a place like this. Don’t take offense at my bluntness. If you’re here, focus on making money. If you want love, get out of here and go look for it. Don’t try to have both. In the end you’ll lose both.”
Then he stood up and headed for the exit. His eyes turned cold as he asked Zhou Yi Ming,
“Where’s Yan Ye now?”
“At the hotel,” Zhou Yi Ming replied. “He’s waiting for you, Brother Xue.”
Futile Devices Scans 
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