Futile Devices Scans

The town had no visible sunset. By the time the sun set, it was already on the other side of the mountain. Only the afterglow filtered through the peaks, faint and pale, never intense.

Yan Ye returned beneath the evening glow and found Xue Bao Tian on the terrace. He was sitting in a bamboo chair drinking beer. When he turned to look over, there was a rare gentleness in his eyes and brows.

Yan Ye missed that look. Reaching back, he picked up a piece of clothing and draped it over Xue Bao Tian’s shoulders. “The dew gets heavy at night. Don’t catch a cold.”

Xue Bao Tian patted the chair beside him and opened a beer for Yan Ye. “Come sit.”

A confession could hardly begin with a blunt declaration. Besides, he had “committed too many sins” over the years. If he suddenly offered up his sincere feelings, Yan Ye would either think he was sick or suspect that Xue Bao Tian was plotting some new trouble.

Letting things happen naturally was the most moving approach. While cursing himself for being so damn sentimental, Xue Bao Tian forced down the feelings threatening to spill out.

Yan Ye sat in the chair, leaving half a body’s distance between them. Taking the beer, he looked toward the fading glow behind the mountains. He was never a talkative man, yet he always seemed to have something to discuss with Xue Bao Tian. Moments like this, when neither of them spoke, were exceedingly rare.

“What did you do today?” Xue Bao Tian began according to plan.

Foam overflowed from the beer bottle and slid down Yan Ye’s fingers. He pulled out a tissue to wipe them clean and said without lifting his eyes, “I went to meet a client.”

“A client?”

The tissue landed in the trash bin. “Mm. I signed a new contract today.” Taking a sip of beer, he continued, “I’ve been chatting with the people staking out the town these past few days. They told me Zhao Xiao Quan has been trying to land a major client, but the client wasn’t satisfied with either him or his team, so cooperation never materialized.”

Xue Bao Tian straightened immediately. “You stole Zhao Xiao Quan’s deal?”

“Not exactly. He couldn’t get it in the first place.”

“How big is the contract?”

Yan Ye looked at Xue Bao Tian, calculation lurking unfathomably in his eyes. “Bigger than the one Sheng Yu stole from me.”

“Really?” Xue Bao Tian shot to his feet, delighted. “Sheng Yu used underhanded methods to steal your contract and wreck your reputation in the company. If you return carrying an even bigger deal, who comes out looking better? The answer’s obvious. Isn’t that basically slapping Sheng Yu across the face?”

Dropping back into the bamboo chair, Xue Bao Tian took a leisurely sip of beer, his expression viciously pleased. “Now that’ll be entertaining. I’d really like to see how all those people who trampled you underfoot before are going to lift you back onto a pedestal.” Crossing one leg over the other, he said lazily, “Just thinking about it feels fucking satisfying.”

He raised his beer and clinked it against Yan Ye’s. “What company? Did things go smoothly today?”

“Huaye Technology. And yes, very smoothly.”

“Huaye Technology? The one that makes phones?”

“Mm.”

The rich malt aroma spread through Xue Bao Tian’s mouth. Looking at the mountains gradually sinking into twilight, he smiled slowly. “Impressive.”

The atmosphere was pleasant. Feeling the moment was right, Xue Bao Tian touched the papers in his pocket. “Yan Ye, I…”

“I have something… I want to tell you.” Yan Ye stared into empty space and spoke before he could.

Xue Bao Tian clicked his tongue and patted his pocket. “Go ahead.”

Now that he had the chance, Yan Ye remained silent for quite a while. His fingers gripped the bottle neck as he slowly rocked it back and forth. Finally, when darkness had completely settled around them, he spoke softly.

“Starting today, I’m moving out.”

Xue Bao Tian’s brows immediately drew together. “What?”

“I’m moving out.”

“Why?”

Yan Ye tilted his head back and finished the beer in one clean motion. When he looked at Xue Bao Tian again, the night had already seeped into his eyes, turning them dark and heavy. “Xue Bao Tian, I have someone I like.”

The pocket holding those few thin sheets of paper suddenly felt unbearably heavy, crushing the breath from his lungs.

“What did you say?”

“I have someone I like.” Yan Ye’s tone remained calm and level. “Master Xue once said that if either of us ever fell for someone, then whatever existed between us would be over.”

Xue Bao Tian searched for a cigarette, put it between his lips, then searched for his lighter. He struck it two or three times before a flame appeared, illuminating his pale face.

His eyelashes trembled as they hung low, concealing his expression. He held the harsh smoke in his mouth for a long time before releasing it abruptly. Despite being a veteran smoker, he seemed to choke on it badly. A fit of coughing overtook him, and redness appeared at the corners of his eyes, making him look unexpectedly disheveled.

Resting his elbows on his knees, Xue Bao Tian finally stopped coughing and pushed away the glass of water offered to him. Staring at the rough concrete floor, he laughed with a sharp edge in his voice.

“Who is it? Which unlucky bastard managed to catch General Manager Yan’s eye?”

The glass was set back on the table with a crisp sound that blended with Yan Ye’s deep voice as it slipped into the night.

“Lin Zhi Yi, General Manager of Huaye Technology. The client I met today.”

“Today?” Xue Bao Tian suddenly raised his head.

“Today.” Yan Ye lowered his gaze to him. “Love at first sight.”

The distant mountains and nearby ridges were cloaked in haze. Occasional barking drifted over from afar. The sun had already disappeared, but the moon had yet to rise.

Turning away, Xue Bao Tian muttered, “Fuck.” He had smoked too much. Suddenly his mouth and his heart both felt bitter. Removing the cigarette, he curled one corner of his lips upward in something halfway between a sneer and a joke. “Looks like the moon god’s garbage sorting finally reached General Manager Yan.”

He stood and leaned against the balcony railing. The mountain shadows resembled the jagged teeth of a monster, slowly swallowing everything whole.

The white smoke stood out starkly against the darkness. His breath distorted it as it drifted away. Calmly, he asked, “How did it turn into love at first sight? What’s so great about him?”

Yan Ye opened another beer and took a small sip. “Refreshing. Intelligent. Cultured.”

Biting down on his cigarette, Xue Bao Tian never turned around. In his usual careless tone, he asked, “That’s it?”

Yan Ye gazed at the thin figure almost blending into the mountain shadows and replied slowly, “He doesn’t make trouble.”

“Fuck.” Xue Bao Tian laughed. “You’ve got good taste. Congratulations.”

Yan Ye sank back into his chair. Looking toward the mountains that had become nothing but outlines, he let out a quiet sigh, deep as a cello’s lament.

“Xue Bao Tian, do you know something? I used to like you.”

The figure in the darkness stiffened.

It remained rigid for a long time before slowly relaxing again.

“Used to?” he said with a smile. “Then that’s the past tense.”

Yan Ye rose and came to stand beside him, looking out at the same view.

“Mm. Just the past.”

Xue Bao Tian looked at the man beside him and asked in a tone that sounded almost playful, “Why didn’t you tell me when you liked me?”

Yan Ye reached out to brush aside the hair scattered by the wind, but his hand stopped halfway and withdrew.

“If I’d told you, what would your answer have been?” Leaning slightly closer, he said, “Two Hundred, I like you.”

The night wind rose, neither strong nor weak, weaving between them. Yet it felt like a thick, immovable wall had sprung up.

“What would your answer have been?”

Xue Bao Tian lifted his eyes and met Yan Ye’s gaze. In his ears echoed that single word:

Used to.

“Little idiot, I’m straight,” he said softly.

There was no disappointment and no regret. Yan Ye had remained calm from beginning to end. Looking away, he faced forward again, as though they had been discussing nothing more important than ordinary small talk.

The town was never lively, and it became even quieter at night. Once silence settled between them, only the wind remained.

After a long while, Yan Ye heard Xue Bao Tian ask, “What does love at first sight feel like?”

He thought about it for a moment. “It’s alright. Pretty nice.”

“What about when you first met me?” Xue Bao Tian blew the smoke far away, his expression carrying its usual careless roguishness. “Did you feel anything like that?”

Yan Ye seemed to genuinely laugh from the bottom of his heart. “You were black-and-blue when I met you. If I’d fallen in love at first sight, wouldn’t that make me a complete pervert?”

“Fuck.” Xue Bao Tian laughed too. “That would be pretty perverted. But did you have to put it so bluntly?”

They smiled at each other, each seeing their own reflection in the other’s eyes. Only when the smiles faded did Xue Bao Tian suddenly reach out and grab Yan Ye by the neck, pressing himself against the warm chest beneath.

“Little idiot. Sleep with me one last time. Move out tomorrow.”

Yan Ye slowly wrapped his hand around Xue Bao Tian’s wrist. Something obscure and unreadable flickered in his eyes.

“Xue Bao Tian…”

Xue Bao Tian released him and pulled something out from behind the bamboo chair. He fastened it around his own neck.

With a hook of his finger, it jingled softly.

Then he leaned forward and kissed him.

“Zhang Chi, let Master Xue sleep with you one more night.”

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