Lin Yi pushed open the door to the Japanese restaurant. The wind chime hanging above it rang softly, its crisp sound abrupt against the stillness of the late night. The drowsy chef jerked awake, his body instantly tensing as he reflexively called out in Japanese, “Welcome.”
The new customer did not understand Japanese. He waved a hand dismissively, swept his gaze across the restaurant, and walked straight toward the table in the farthest corner.
There was only one customer in the late-night eatery. He had ordered a bowl of noodles but had barely touched them. More than half the bowl remained.
The lone diner was on the phone. When he saw Lin Yi approach, he merely lifted his eyelids slightly, cast a casual glance his way, and then looked elsewhere.
Ignoring the cold reception, Lin Yi sat down directly beside him. The long bench was narrow enough that their shoulders nearly touched.
Zhou Ruo An frowned faintly. During a pause in his conversation, he tapped the tabletop lightly with a finger, then pointed toward the seat across from him, signaling for Lin Yi to sit there instead.
Lin Yi acted as though he had not seen the gesture. Resting his fingers on the bowl of noodles, he felt a trace of lingering warmth. He picked up a fresh pair of chopsticks, pulled the bowl toward himself, and lifted a mouthful of noodles. Just as he was about to eat them, Zhou Ruo An stopped him.
“The noodles are soggy. I ordered you a fresh bowl.” Pulling the phone slightly away from his mouth, Zhou Ruo An snapped his fingers in a manner that made him look like a considerate friend and called over the chef. “Large sashimi platter, thank you.”
After placing the order, he returned to his conversation, speaking softly into the phone with a gentle tone that even carried a trace of ingratiating warmth.
When the call finally ended, Lin Yi turned his head and asked, “Zhou Ran Ming?”
Zhou Ruo An placed a cigarette between his lips and answered, “Ren Yu.”
Lin Yi looked mildly surprised.
“Ren Yu requires that much coaxing?”
The lighter’s flame swept across the tobacco. Zhou Ruo An tossed the lighter aside and chuckled.
“He’s my assistant. What’s wrong with me wanting to spoil him a little?”
Lin Yi’s expression did not change, though his gaze deepened slightly.
“I just—”
He was abruptly interrupted.
Looking past Lin Yi, Zhou Ruo An raised a hand toward the chef approaching with the sashimi platter and tapped the table lightly.
“Over here.”
The beautifully arranged sashimi platter was set down before them. Fresh slices of fish lay atop an ice-carved serving tray, their delicate marbling and firm texture on full display. Chilled air drifted upward from the crushed ice beneath, carrying with it the faint scent of the sea.
Picking up a slice of sashimi with his chopsticks, Zhou Ruo An dipped it into soy sauce and held it out toward Lin Yi.
“Premium stuff. Expensive too. Give it a try, Brother Lin.”
His brows relaxed, his expression attentive and thoughtful. He looked like the best kind of friend, determined not to let his buddy miss out on something good.
Lin Yi stared at the slice of sashimi. His brows knitted almost imperceptibly.
The translucent fish glimmered coldly under the lights, like a piece of ice that had never thawed.
He disliked raw food.
Growing up in the slums, he had spent years suppressing his desires, and those longings had etched themselves into his sense of taste. In his memory, good food was the glossy roast chicken hanging at the corner braised-meat stall, the streaked layers of fat and lean pork belly on a butcher’s block, or the sizzling slices of meat crackling in an iron wok. Those steaming, grease-rich dishes were the flavors his bones remembered.
As a teenager, Lin Yi had once admired the raw delicacies rich people talked about. After saving enough money to escape poverty, he had tried them out of curiosity. The fishy taste and strange texture had disappointed him so badly that he had nearly gagged. The only reason he forced himself to swallow was because he had paid for it.
Now, he looked up at Zhou Ruo An.
The other man was holding the fish before his lips, wearing a faint smile that wasn’t quite a smile.
And he looked infuriatingly handsome.
Leaning forward slightly, Lin Yi took the sashimi from the chopsticks and swallowed it.
The instant the icy fish entered his mouth, its fishiness exploded across his tongue. The slippery texture tightened his throat. Suppressing his discomfort, he forced himself to swallow the slice of fatty tuna belly.
“Good?” Zhou Ruo An asked.
“Mm.”
Lin Yi’s answer was brief.
“Then try this one too.” Zhou Ruo An used the tip of his chopsticks to poke open the wasabi and carefully spread it across another slice of tuna belly. “It was flown in this morning.”
As though completely unaware of Lin Yi’s dislike for the food, Zhou Ruo An continued serving him enthusiastically, even with a hint of eagerness. He held out another piece of sashimi loaded with wasabi.
“Try it. It’s incredibly tender.”
Lowering his gaze to the fish, Lin Yi considered it for a moment before putting it into his mouth.
The wasabi’s sharp heat shot straight into his sinuses, making his eyes redden instantly.
A short laugh came from beside him.
Resting his chin in one hand, Zhou Ruo An let his shirt cuff slide down slightly, revealing pale blue veins along his wrist bone.
“Bluefin tuna belly has a lot of fat. Really rich and delicious. Want another piece?” He picked up another slice and coated it generously with wasabi before offering it over once more.
Lin Yi looked at him. His eyes were still rimmed with red from the wasabi, yet he did not refuse. Once again, he accepted the sashimi.
This time, the wasabi was even stronger.
The heat surged upward so violently that he could barely breathe. Tears spilled from his eyes before he could stop them.
Forcing down the sashimi, he raised a hand to wipe the corner of his eye.
His voice came out slightly hoarse.
“Water.”
Zhou Ruo An looked at him, a complicated emotion flashing briefly through his eyes before he returned to his usual indifferent demeanor. Picking up the cup of tea, he brought it to the man’s lips. Lin Yi drank from it with Zhou Ruo An’s hand still holding the cup, then lifted his eyes and asked, “How much do I have to eat before you stop being angry?”
The tendons beneath the cuff of Zhou Ruo An’s shirt stood out sharply from the tension he was suppressing. Suddenly, he pulled his hand back and set the teacup down on the table with a sharp clack. Snatching up the suit jacket draped over the back of his chair, he said coldly, “I just remembered I have an international call to take later, so I’ll be leaving first. Take your time eating, Brother Lin. I can put this on my tab. If it’s not enough, feel free to order more.”
Before he had even finished speaking, Zhou Ruo An turned to leave. He had barely taken a step when Lin Yi grabbed his wrist. The man’s hand was warm and strong, wrapping firmly around the delicate bones of his wrist with just the right amount of force—impossible to shake off, yet not enough to hurt him.
Zhou Ruo An turned around and met Lin Yi’s gaze directly. The man’s eyes still shimmered with tears brought on by the wasabi. The rims were slightly red, yet he continued looking at him without wavering. His voice was low and hoarse.
“Jealous?”
Zhou Ruo An froze for a moment before curling his lips into a careless smile.
“Bullshit.”
Lin Yi did not let go. Instead, he tugged him a little closer and calmly explained, “One of my men was betraying me from the inside. To make an example of him, I came down hard on him. My clothes got dirty, so I just took a shower in one of the private rooms at the clubhouse. Bai Ban, Huang San Er, and a few others were all there at the time. Huang San Er was the one who answered the phone. I’ve already ordered everyone not to answer my calls without permission ever again.”
As Zhou Ruo An listened, the smile on his face gradually faded. It felt as though someone had stripped away his disguise in public. There was no way he would ever admit to being jealous. He tried to pull his wrist free, only to discover that Lin Yi’s grip had tightened even further. Giving up on struggling, he asked coldly,
“Why are you telling me all this?”
Lin Yi stood up and gently touched Zhou Ruo An’s cheek with his free hand. The gesture was so gentle that it was as though he were handling a fragile treasure. His voice was low and unhurried, carrying both helplessness and affection.
“An An, stop making a fuss. Bai Jiu is coming back tomorrow. We—”
Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Ruo An’s expression sharpened instantly. His pupils contracted slightly, and a trace of tension crept into his voice.
“He’s coming back tomorrow?”
The tall man pulled Zhou Ruo An into his arms, one arm loosely encircling his shoulders while his palm rested against his back, soothing his unease through the thin layer of his shirt. Lowering his head, Lin Yi spoke very softly, his voice intimate enough to brush against Zhou Ruo An’s ear.
“Tonight is the last peaceful night, An An.”
“Let’s go home.”
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