For the past few days, Zhou Ruo An had been living in a drunken haze, drinking his way through friends, rivals, and passersby alike—human or ghost, it hardly mattered. 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 fucking 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 leave Jin Hui mentally incapacitated, or… Zhou Ruo An cut off the thought before it could continue and forced himself not to think any further.
The cigarette between his fingers had already burned to its end. Ash drifted down onto the expensive carpet, leaving behind a dirty stain. On the LED screen, swirling skirts spun endlessly, their glow casting shifting light and shadow across Zhou Ruo An’s profile.
His phone screen lit up, then 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 in it.
A pleased laugh came from the other end. “The DNA report is out. You really aren’t a Zhou. Kid, you’re playing a pretty big game. You actually 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 Master Bai.” He paused, and his tone suddenly turned cold. “Well? Have you made your decision?”
Zhou Ruo An bit down on the remains of the cigarette. The smoke stung his eyes until they ached. All his strength seemed concentrated in his jaw, crushing the filter 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…
＊
Late at night in the bar’s private room, 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 to the song, a refrain about endings and partings, refusing to let go, and hoping that after everything had passed, someone might still remain beside you through the quiet years.
Elio’s Notes: Zhou Ruo An is singing Faye Wong’s Red Bean《红豆》.
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. The young man’s 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 scrutiny and concern 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 Man Ding are playing poker. With those little cheating tricks of Old Master Jin’s, how could he ever beat Old Man Ding?”
Suddenly, his expression turned to 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 seized the young man’s jaw. “Zhou Ruo An! What did you take this time?”
“Drugs.” 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, their 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 very 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, there was humility in his voice. “I’m begging you, Lin Yi. Don’t degrade me… Tonight, love me properly…”
Elio’s Notes: Please know that there is no Chapter 62 after this. The official Changpei edition skips directly from Chapter 61 to Chapter 63. We checked Chapter 61 on Changpei itself and confirmed that it reaches 100% at the scene above, with Chapter 63 appearing immediately afterward. We also searched available mirrors and the author’s related novels but found no separate Chapter 62 or missing scene that belongs between them. At this point, there is no evidence that any story content is missing. The skipped number may simply be a numbering error or the result of an earlier editorial change, but we have no way to confirm the reason, so we are preserving the official numbering as Chapter 61 → Chapter 63. If an archived version containing a separate Chapter 62 ever surfaces, we’ll translate it and update this section.