The parking lot was brightly lit, while a patch of shadow lay pressed against the corner of the building.
The moment the car entered the lot, Xue Bao Tian spotted Yan Ye walking out of the shadows.
The car rolled slowly toward a parking space. Before it had even stopped, the passenger door was pulled open. Bracing one hand against the roof, Yan Ye bent down and looked inside at Xue Bao Tian. Their gazes met, but neither spoke. Only when Zhou Yi Ming sneezed in the sudden rush of cold air did a trace of impatience finally surface in Xue Bao Tian’s dark, cool eyes.
“So General Manager Yan had me dragged here just to check whether I washed my face?”
A faint smile spread across Yan Ye’s face. He reached in and ruffled Xue Bao Tian’s hair. “Tired? I’ll take you to the room.”
It was a five-star hotel, with an upscale restaurant on the top floor. Xue Bao Tian had been there before, so he immediately pressed the highest button in the elevator.
“I’m hungry. Let’s eat.”
The next second, the newly lit button was canceled. Yan Ye suggested gently, “Let’s go back to the room first. I have something to tell you.”
“Food first.”
The hand reaching for the button was intercepted halfway. For once, the usually accommodating Yan Ye was unexpectedly firm. “Room first.”
Xue Bao Tian’s eyes chilled. Tilting his head slightly, he looked Yan Ye up and down with malicious amusement.
“General Manager Yan may not know how to be considerate of other people, but you sure know how to be considerate of yourself. Even your five facial features get rotating days off. Looks like your sense of shame is on vacation today, otherwise you couldn’t possibly say something like that.”
Yan Ye sighed helplessly and was about to speak when the elevator stopped with a ding. The doors opened and several more people stepped inside. Seeing the two men faintly confronting each other by the entrance, they couldn’t help glancing over. Yan Ye, however, still held Xue Bao Tian’s wrist. No one knew how long he had been standing outside, but his palm was so cold it made the heart clench. The tall man bent slightly and murmured softly beside Xue Bao Tian’s ear, “Master Xue, I’m begging you. Let’s go back to the room first.”
The room door opened and the smart lights came on one after another. It was a luxury suite with a panoramic view, the glittering prosperity of the entire city visible through the windows.
“After getting used to eighty-yuan-a-night motels, a room like this really does feel strange.” As Xue Bao Tian walked, he idly flicked the crystal beads hanging from a floor lamp. Amid their light chiming, he looked back at Yan Ye. “Kind of like how, given enough time, you can occasionally detect a little humanity even in garbage.”
Reaching the liquor cabinet, Xue Bao Tian casually browsed through the bottles, his narrow waist and slender back turned toward Yan Ye as he asked indifferently, “What did General Manager Yan want to tell me?”
Yan Ye walked up behind him, his broad, powerful frame making it look almost as though he were embracing Xue Bao Tian from behind. “I saw on the surveillance footage that my stepmother went looking for you, but I got called away on an emergency assignment and couldn’t get back in time to help.”
Xue Bao Tian shoved one bottle into Yan Ye’s hands, took another two himself, and sat down on the living-room sofa. As he opened a bottle, he said, “Your stepmother’s brain doesn’t weigh as much as the powder she cakes onto her face. You really don’t need to worry so much.”
Yan Ye followed him over. He was about to sit beside Xue Bao Tian, but under the warning in Xue Bao Tian’s gaze, he moved instead to the single armchair nearby.
“I can explain what happened with Fang Fei.”
Pop! Xue Bao Tian opened the bottle right over the tail end of Yan Ye’s sentence, and fine bubbles rose from the bottom of the amber liquid.
“There’s really nothing to explain between people with our kind of relationship. Once we’re buddies later, you can tell me all about your romantic history and give me a good laugh.”
Xue Bao Tian pulled out a cigarette and held it lightly between his teeth, then undid another button at his throat. His sidelong gaze was full of careless debauchery, though on closer inspection there was a faint, subtle mockery beneath it. “Then Master Xue can tell you about my own romantic scandals and broaden the horizons of a little dumbass like you.”
Yan Ye’s brows lowered, his expression turning even more serious. “Two Hundred, I’m serious.”
The mocking smile froze instantly. Xue Bao Tian slowly lifted his eyes, his uniquely cold, sharp voice carrying a hint of danger. “Call me ‘Two Hundred’ one more fucking time and see what happens.”
No one knew better than Yan Ye how to avoid Xue Bao Tian’s sharp edges. He immediately corrected himself. “Master Xue, I’m serious.”
“Yan Ye, has Master Xue never properly shown you how to have fun?” The severity vanished, and Xue Bao Tian became unserious again. “Perfect. I’ll make up for it today.”
He opened two more bottles in succession, mixed three kinds of liquor together, poured them into three glasses, and lined them up in front of Yan Ye.
“Life of Drunken Dreams. Not everyone gets the privilege of drinking a cocktail mixed by Master Xue.” Xue Bao Tian tilted his chin toward the glasses. “Drink them, and I’ll listen to your explanation.”
Mixed together, the three liquors became even darker, their pungent aroma stinging the nose. Yan Ye stared at them for a moment before saying, “I have another assignment tomorrow. I can’t drink tonight.”
Xue Bao Tian was surprisingly reasonable. Taking the unlit cigarette from his mouth, he started to rise. “Fine. Perfect time to go eat.”
A broad palm pressed down on Xue Bao Tian’s knee, stopping him. “I’ll drink.”
Yan Ye never hesitated when it came to alcohol. He drained all three glasses without spilling a drop. As the third empty glass returned to the table, he heard the flick of Xue Bao Tian’s lighter and a faint voice saying, “Explain.”
“Oh, right.” Xue Bao Tian added, “Yan Ye, exactly what am I supposed to be when I listen to this explanation?”
Yan Ye abruptly raised his head and met Xue Bao Tian’s gaze. Xue Bao Tian was watching him with amused interest, a smile hovering on his lips while his eyes remained deep and complicated.
The large hand on Xue Bao Tian’s knee tightened more and more. For once, Yan Ye couldn’t find a suitable answer. He had never been good at solving problems, much less one where he couldn’t even make out the question.
Slender, pale fingers suddenly patted the back of his hand. Turning his head to exhale smoke, Xue Bao Tian laughed. “As your Grandpa. Come on, grandson. Give Grandpa your report. Start talking.”
After a moment of silence, Yan Ye gathered his scattered thoughts and said hoarsely, “Fang Fei and I never dated.”
“How do you prove that?”
Yan Ye took out his phone, dialed a number, turned on speakerphone, and placed it on the table.
Before long, a very polite voice came through the receiver amid the noisy sounds of the outdoors. “Hello, this is Fang Fei. Who’s calling?”
“It’s me. Yan Ye.”
The instant Yan Ye identified himself, a burst of rustling and clattering came from the other end, accompanied by someone faintly shouting, “Fang Fei, you dropped your phone!”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. You guys go ahead.” His voice gradually became clearer. “Yan Ye, why are you calling from this number…”
“I encrypted the number. Otherwise, how would you have answered?” For once, Yan Ye’s voice carried a trace of coldness. “Tell me. Why did you team up with Lin Ke Wei against me? What do you gain from it?”
“Wait a second.” The sound of pages turning came from the other end, followed by a deliberate clearing of the throat. “Yan Ye, when you saved me that day, you were on assignment, right?”
Yan Ye thought briefly before answering in a low voice, “Yes.”
“And back then, your name was Zhang Tian Ze, right?”
“Yes.”
“You saw someone bullying me, stepped in to save me, then said you thought I was good-looking and wanted to date me. All of that is true too, right?”
Yan Ye choked. Frowning, he reluctantly admitted, “Yes.”
“Since all of that is true, what else is there to say? Yan Ye, I still have class, so I’m hanging up.” Just before disconnecting, Fang Fei hurriedly added, “Oh, right. We still haven’t broken up. If… anyone asks, make sure you tell the truth.”
Click. Fang Fei hung up. The screen faded from bright to dark, mirroring Yan Ye’s gradually darkening expression.
Yan Ye had always been steady, even his anger kept hidden beneath the surface. Xue Bao Tian watched the veins rise at his temples and heard his voice remain calm, though it had turned noticeably hoarser.
“What he said was only one part of the assignment, not the whole thing.” Yan Ye looked directly into Xue Bao Tian’s eyes, speaking every word slowly and clearly. “My assignment at the time was to protect him from harassment. It was my first job after I got licensed. I was too young then, and nobody wanted to hire me. Fang Fei’s teacher was one of my former seniors. He looked after me and gave me the assignment. I really didn’t have any experience back then. I didn’t know how to design a security plan, and nobody at the company would help me, so Fang Fei and I came up with a ‘hero saves the beauty’ scenario where I pretended to be his boyfriend. Looking back now… it was a complete failure.”
Resting one arm along the side of the sofa, a cigarette between his long fingers, Xue Bao Tian looked perfectly composed. “Your word alone proves nothing. Why should I believe you?”
Yan Ye glanced at his watch. “Fang Fei’s teacher can prove it. He was the one who hired me to protect Fang Fei, but at this hour I can’t get in touch with him.”
Xue Bao Tian straightened from the sofa, resting his arms atop his crossed legs. His voice was casual, as though they were discussing something completely ordinary. “Need my help?”
Yan Ye frowned, not understanding.
Xue Bao Tian picked up a bottle and slowly refilled the glass. “Drink. No need to bother anyone else. Master Xue will clear your name.”
“What do you mean?”
“Quit wasting time. Master Xue is still hungry. Drink, and I’ll clear your name.”
Yan Ye fell silent for a moment, then lifted the glass and, without breaking eye contact with Xue Bao Tian, drained another three glasses in succession.
The empty glass landed softly on the table. Keeping his promise, Xue Bao Tian held his cigarette between his teeth, freed one hand to tear a sheet from the hotel notepad, placed it in front of Yan Ye, and handed him a pen. “Write Fang Fei’s name.”
“Why?”
“Because I told you to.”
Holding the pen, Yan Ye wrote an ugly “Fang,” then immediately ran into trouble with the next character. He scribbled several strokes, crossed them out, thought for a while longer, then finally put down the pen. “I don’t know how.”
“Do you at least know which character it is?”
“I’ve seen it on contracts before. It’s uncommon. I forgot.”
Xue Bao Tian casually tossed the note aside. “If two people have actually dated, there’s no way they wouldn’t know how to write each other’s names.”
Yan Ye froze, his gaze deepening. “So you never really believed Fang Fei and I…”
Xue Bao Tian snorted. “I never fucking believed you and Xiao Fang had anything going on. Hell, with a name like his, he wouldn’t even look twice at an illiterate idiot like you.”
Yan Ye finally let out a long breath, a smile appearing on his face at last. He immediately moved closer to hug him, only for Xue Bao Tian to dodge aside. “Let’s go. I’m hungry.”
Xue Bao Tian stubbed out his cigarette and rose from the sofa. Turning away, he lowered his eyes, concealing the complicated emotions within them.
He had only taken two steps when someone suddenly caught his wrist. Xue Bao Tian heard Yan Ye ask, “Then why are you still unhappy?”
“Who said I’m unhappy? Did your fucking eyes go off duty today too? So now that thing on your shoulders is just a lump of meat?”
Yan Ye slowly moved from behind him to stand in front, gently stroking Xue Bao Tian’s cheek. “I can tell you’re unhappy.”
Xue Bao Tian rolled his eyes coldly. “I can tell you’re missing half your brain too. Doesn’t mean I can do anything about it. Move. Is getting in my fucking way a family tradition?”
The arm around his waist tightened, pulling Xue Bao Tian into Yan Ye’s embrace. “Are you unhappy because of me? Give me a hint, Master Xue. If I’m going to die, at least let me know why.”
“Get the fuck away from me.” Xue Bao Tian struggled in his arms. “Yan Ye, from now on, aside from when Master Xue is putting you in your place, keep your hands off me. The rest of the time, stop fucking clinging to me every chance you get. I’m sick of it.”
The alcohol had gotten into Yan Ye’s blood, leaving him hot and restless. He pushed Xue Bao Tian backward until his back met the wall, then immediately closed in. One hand braced against the wall, trapping Xue Bao Tian between his arm and body, while the other lifted his chin. Staring directly into his eyes, Yan Ye enunciated clearly, “Two Hundred.”
Xue Bao Tian’s eyes immediately flared. “Didn’t I fucking tell you not to call me ‘Two Hundred’ anymore?!”
“Two Hundred.” For the first time, Yan Ye deliberately provoked Xue Bao Tian, his fingers tightening around his chin. “What exactly are you angry about?”
“Fuck you, Yan Ye! I’ve been letting you keep your dignity, and you’re the one throwing it away!” Xue Bao Tian grabbed Yan Ye by the collar. “You really want to force Master Xue to stop being polite?”
Fearless, Yan Ye leaned down and kissed him, his lips brushing Xue Bao Tian’s as he taunted, “Master Xue’s claws aren’t even as dangerous as the kitten at home.”
“You’re fucking asking for death!” The irritation in Xue Bao Tian’s eyes darkened into something sinister. Releasing Yan Ye’s collar, he grabbed his tie instead. Yan Ye must have finished his assignment and gone straight downstairs to wait for him, because he was still dressed neatly in a perfectly proper suit. Xue Bao Tian wound the tie around his hand several times, then yanked downward with all his strength.
“Mm!” Yan Ye was tall and powerfully built, every muscle carrying restrained strength, but tonight he had drunk six full glasses of mixed hard liquor, so naturally his reactions weren’t as fast as usual. More importantly, he never guarded himself against Xue Bao Tian. When the tie suddenly dragged him downward, his knees bent and his body pitched forward, making him stumble.
In that brief instant, Xue Bao Tian seized the opportunity. He lifted one leg and drove his heel hard into the back of Yan Ye’s knee, then planted his foot against the back of his calf and forced it downward.
Bang! Yan Ye dropped to one knee, kneeling directly in front of Xue Bao Tian.