\Zhou Ruo An had spent the past few days in a drunken haze, drinking his way through friends, rivals, and strangers alike, hardly bothering to distinguish between the living and the dead. Today, however, he had booked a private room for himself, ordered liquor, queued up songs, and sat there alone in silence.
Zhou Ruo An had been backed into a corner. In front of him was Bai Jiu’s blade at his throat; behind him was Zhou Ran Ming’s pitch-black Hall of Yama. Both gates of hell stood wide open. Squatting at the fork in the road with half a cigarette dangling from his lips, he found that every path was a fight for survival—either jump into the fire pit or throw himself to the wolves.
It wasn’t entirely true that there was no way out. He could make Jin Hui lose his mind, or… Zhou Ruo An cut off the thought before it could continue and forced himself not to think further.
The cigarette between his fingers had already burned to its end. Ash drifted down onto the expensive carpet, leaving a dirty stain. On the LED screen, swirling skirts rotated endlessly, their glow casting shifting shadows across Zhou Ruo An’s face.
His phone screen lit up and went dark again. He stared at the incoming call and only pressed answer when the ringtone was about to end.
“Master Bai.” Zhou Ruo An’s voice was so calm that no emotion could be heard within it.
A pleased laugh came from the other end. “The DNA report is out. You really aren’t a Zhou. Kid, you played a pretty big game. You dared to set up a scheme this huge. Everyone used to say you were just a small-time swindler. Looks like they all underestimated you.”
Flicking the ash from his trousers, Zhou Ruo An decided to stop caring and asked, “Did Master Bai drag Zhou Jing Tao in for the test?”
“How could that be?” Bai Jiu laughed, amusement lacing his voice. “I still have to keep your secret, don’t I? All I needed was to have someone pluck a few hairs. That’s hardly difficult for me.” He paused, and his tone suddenly turned cold. “Well? Have you made your decision?”
Zhou Ruo An bit down on the cigarette butt. The smoke stung his eyes until they turned sour. All his strength was concentrated in his jaw; the cigarette filter had been chewed into a thin, flattened strip. When he finally removed it from his mouth, the mangled cigarette looked downright ugly.
Only after Bai Jiu coughed lightly through the receiver did Zhou Ruo An finally speak. “I’ve made my decision. Find a time. I’d like to meet with Master Bai and discuss something mutually beneficial.”
“Mutually beneficial?” Bai Jiu mocked. “Mutual benefit means both sides gain something. I don’t believe Young Master Zhou still has any bargaining chips worth my attention.”
Slowly, Zhou Ruo An picked up his spare phone. “Whether Master Bai finds it worthwhile or not, one look will tell.”
The other side fell silent for a moment. “Fine. Tomorrow night. Yayin Pavilion Opera Society.”
After hanging up, Zhou Ruo An remained motionless for a long time. His gaze settled on the screen of the spare phone, and with a gentle swipe of his finger, he opened an audio recording.
“Your brother wants to bring down Bai Jiu?” his own voice sounded from the recording.
Then came Bai Ban’s drunken reply. “Huh? How did you know? No… no such thing.”
“Could it be… he doesn’t want to take the fall for Bai Jiu, so he plans to strike first?”
The recording ended abruptly. In the silent room, only Zhou Ruo An’s heavy breathing remained…
In the private room of the bar late at night, Zhou Ruo An was already slightly drunk.
There was liquor at hand, music looping endlessly, and over and over again came the song Zhou Ruo An had once sung in a dark back alley.
In his memories, the narrow alley seemed endlessly long beneath his staggering footsteps. Behind eighteen-year-old Zhou Ruo An walked nineteen-year-old Lin Yi.
Both of them were drunk, yet Lin Yi’s steps remained steady. Only the unmistakable smile in his eyes proved that he was no longer bothering to hide his emotions.
In that urban village, there was no such thing as disturbing the peace. Small karaoke parlors hooked up to external speakers and sang deep into the night.
From far away, the fading notes of music drifted through the darkness and gently scattered through the alleyways.
Zhou Ruo An hummed along, “Sometimes, sometimes, I believe everything has an ending. Meetings and partings all have their time. Nothing lasts forever. But sometimes, I’d rather cling on and refuse to let go. When every landscape has been seen through, perhaps you’ll still stay with me and watch the quiet flow of life.”
Zhou Ruo An had a fine singing voice, carrying the clear brightness unique to youth. The wind in the alley carried the damp scent of mildew, tousling his hair and scattering his song.
Turning his head, he smiled and asked, “Does it sound good?”
Lin Yi stopped walking and leaned against a weathered old wall. Lighting a cigarette, he let the smoke curl upward, blurring his features.
The corners of his lips lifted slightly. His voice was as soft as the drifting smoke. “It sounds good.”
The memory was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a door being pushed open. Zhou Ruo An slowly raised his head and saw Lin Yi standing against the backlight at the entrance.
A smile suddenly appeared at the corner of his lips. With a hint of complaint, he crooked a finger at him. “You finally came.”
Lin Yi locked the door behind him and walked over. Bending slightly, he studied Zhou Ruo An with concern and scrutiny in his eyes. “Didn’t I tell you? If I don’t come looking for you, don’t come looking for me.”
Zhou Ruo An tilted his head back to look at him. His gaze was unfocused and distant. “They’re all here. You’re the only one missing.”
Lin Yi frowned and glanced around the room. “Who’s here? What nonsense are you talking about?”
Zhou Ruo An raised a finger and pointed toward the song selection console. “Look. Zhang Jin is over there singing. He’s even got that foreign beauty I burned for him wrapped in his arms.” Then he pointed somewhere else. “Old Master Jin and Old Ding are playing cards. With those little cheating tricks of Old Master Jin’s, how could he ever beat Old Ding?”
Suddenly, his expression turned into one of sheer terror, and his voice rose uncontrollably.
“Zhang Yu Ting is dead.” His trembling finger pointed toward the doorway. “She was hit by a car. There was so much blood.”
Seeing this, Lin Yi immediately grabbed the young man’s jaw.
“Zhou Ruo An! What did you take this time?”
“Medicine.” Zhou Ruo An’s voice seemed to be forced out from the depths of his throat, hoarse and broken. His trembling fingers slowly climbed up Lin Yi’s neck, the tips icy cold, like a drowning man clutching at his last piece of driftwood. “Lin Yi, don’t blame me…”
His arms tightened more and more around him, as though he wanted to knead the man before him into his flesh and bones, yet also as though he feared that the moment he let go, the other person would disappear. “They all want me dead…” It was as if something were lodged in his throat; Zhou Ruo An’s voice sounded more like a choked sob. “I really have no other way…”
The worry in Lin Yi’s eyes deepened. Reaching out, he gently pulled Zhou Ruo An into his embrace, his voice unconsciously softening.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Nothing…” Zhou Ruo An tilted his head up slightly and, trembling, pressed a kiss to Lin Yi’s lips. “Don’t you like me? Don’t you want to sleep with me? I’ll let you tonight.”
For the first time, a note of humility entered his voice.
“I’m begging you, Lin Yi. Don’t degrade me… Tonight, love me properly…”
Elio’s Notes: Dear readers, it looks like this chapter was cut and we won’t be expecting Chapter 62, too. 😭 We desperately tried looking for all the missing chapters, but couldn’t find them online. If you know where we can get the complete version of this story, please share it with us and we’ll be more than happy to translate everything that’s been missing. 🙇
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