The car sped down the highway in the dead of night. Streetlights on either side swept rapidly backward, their fleeting glow leaving streaks of cold white light across the darkened windows.
The hand gripping the steering wheel was stained with blood across the webbing between the thumb and forefinger and around the wrist. Whenever the dim interior light passed over it, the blood gleamed with an eerie sheen.
A voice came from the passenger seat. “Bai Jiu really is ruthless,” Wang Zhi Ping said quietly. “He won’t even spare his own brother-in-law.”
His voice was full of apprehension, though a trace of schadenfreude was mixed in.
In the driver’s seat, Lin Yi steered with one hand while reaching toward the dashboard with the other to grab a pack of cigarettes. With practiced ease, he shook one loose and slipped it between his lips. Only after lighting it and taking a deep drag did he say, “If he won’t even spare his own brother-in-law, then people like you and me stand even less of a chance, Brother Wang.”
Wang Zhi Ping always carried a knife. Now the blade was unsheathed, twirling through an elegant flourish in his hand as he smiled. “His brother-in-law siphoned quite a bit of money from Bai Jiu behind his back, and his wife helped cover it up, so nothing ever came to light. Strange, though. How did Bai Jiu suddenly catch wind of it recently?”
Lin Yi smiled around his cigarette and countered, “Brother Wang thinks I’m the one behind it?”
“Who else?”
The headlights shone straight ahead, cleaving a bright path through the ink-thick darkness. Lin Yi’s gaze followed that beam until it disappeared into the bottomless night ahead. Suddenly, he said, “Wasn’t Brother Wang the one who arranged for someone to tip me off about his brother-in-law transferring assets?” Removing the cigarette from his lips, he turned to look at Wang Zhi Ping. “You wanted to use me as your knife, but you were also planning to stab me in the back?”
Wang Zhi Ping’s grip tightened abruptly around the knife handle, his expression stiffening for an instant. But he quickly burst into laughter and slapped Lin Yi on the shoulder, deliberately adopting an easy tone. “Relax, young man. We’re grasshoppers tied to the same rope now. We rise together and fall together. If this thing fails, nobody’s walking away unscathed.”
Then his expression darkened with concern. “Bai Jiu ordered the two of us to deal with his brother-in-law. That brat’s sister is notorious for being fiercely protective of her own. You nearly beat him crippled just now. She’s not going to let either of us off.”
Lin Yi lowered the window a crack, and cold air immediately poured inside. Holding the cigarette outside, he flicked away some ash. Sparks caught in the rushing wind, drawing a fiery streak through the darkness.
“That woman only dares to run wild because Bai Jiu is backing her.”
Wang Zhi Ping nodded. “If Bai Jiu falls, she’ll have no choice but to cling to that useless younger brother of hers and tremble in fear.”
“We move the plan up.” Lin Yi suddenly spoke, cutting off the end of Wang Zhi Ping’s sentence.
Wang Zhi Ping turned toward the sharp profile of the young man beside him. “When?”
The bloodstained hand tapped lightly against the steering wheel several times. “Tomorrow night.”
＊
Wang Zhi Ping’s mistress lived in a villa district on the outskirts of the city. Lin Yi drove him to the entrance. In the darkness, the warm glow shining from the villa softened Wang Zhi Ping’s vicious-looking face, revealing a rare hint of tenderness.
He sheathed his knife and pushed open the car door. “She’s been with me for ten years and only just managed to get pregnant,” he said with a grin. “The baby’s due next year. Born in the Year of the Rabbit.”
Lin Yi smiled and congratulated him. Wang Zhi Ping waved dismissively, visibly pleased with himself. Just as he was about to close the car door, he suddenly leaned back inside, bracing one hand against the door as he lowered himself to look directly at Lin Yi. “That young master from the Zhou family is your lover, isn’t he?” His eyes remained fixed on Lin Yi’s impassive face as he continued, “No wonder you’re in such a hurry to pull Bai Jiu off his throne. It’s not just because you think he used you, is it? Bai Jiu took a liking to that young master from the Zhou family and wanted to get him into bed. Are you flying into a rage for the sake of a beauty?”
Since Wang Zhi Ping had already laid everything out so plainly, Lin Yi knew there was no point denying it. He admitted it openly. “Nothing gets past Brother Wang.”
Wang Zhi Ping laughed lewdly. “No wonder that young master was willing to put up the land deed as collateral. So the two of you really are husband and wife working with one heart.”
Slowly straightening up, he slapped the roof of the car. “Not bad. Love stronger than gold.” With that, he slammed the door shut with a bang.
Lin Yi watched Wang Zhi Ping’s retreating figure disappear into the distance. Picking up his phone, he opened his chat with Bai Ban. His finger hovered over the keyboard for a long time without pressing down. Wang Zhi Ping’s expression when he spoke of his mistress and child replayed over and over in his mind, along with the pride and satisfaction he had been unable to conceal. A moment later, Lin Yi finally lowered his finger and typed a single line: Tomorrow night. The plan remains unchanged.
The screen went dark. Leaning back against the seat, Lin Yi slowly smoked his cigarette. Smoke curled through the air, wrapping around his hollow gaze. The car’s dome light automatically went out, and the darkness outside pressed densely against the windows, leaving only a solitary silhouette inside the vehicle. After a long while, Lin Yi flicked away the cigarette butt, took out his backup phone, and called Zhou Ruo An.
The rush of wind continued until the call ended. No one answered.
＊
Inside the magnificently decorated banquet hall, glasses clinked and skirts swirled, while even the polished floor reflected the hall’s splendor.
The phone in Zhou Ruo An’s pocket was set to silent. The screen remained lit until the final moment before fading back into darkness.
He had always excelled at handling occasions like this. Warmth and humility shone in his eyes in precisely the right measure as he raised his wineglass to clink glasses with the people around him. Every smile and every word carried the composure and elegance of a rising elite.
But he soon grew tired of it. Finding an opportunity, Zhou Ruo An slipped away to a balcony draped in sheer curtains.
Someone else was already standing in the corner. Her seaweed-like curls swayed lightly in the breeze, the ends brushing against her graceful waist. When she turned around, Zhou Ruo An found himself looking at Third Miss’s face, her expression weighed down by irritation.
Leaning against the opposite side of the balcony, Zhou Ruo An raised his glass toward her with a smile. “It’s lively inside. Why come out here to stand in the cold wind?”
“You came out too.” Third Miss’s voice, usually drawn out in a slow, coquettish manner, had returned to its natural tone. It was unexpectedly clear and captivating.
Taking a sip of wine, Zhou Ruo An looked toward the trees outside wrapped in colorful lights and spoke casually. “I heard you’re getting engaged. Over fifty, with a huge belly.” He glanced at the man’s silhouette inside the hall. “And the few hairs left on his head can probably be counted one by one.”
Third Miss fell silent for a moment before smoothing back her voluminous curls. “You’re hardly in any position to laugh at me. I heard your dear uncle found someone for you too. The daughter of a textile magnate, a favored heiress. Her ex cheated on her, so she stabbed him twice. She was sentenced to three years and just got out of prison.”
Zhou Ruo An laughed. “That impressive? Look at her, then look at you.”
Third Miss choked on her retort and immediately grew annoyed. “It’s a good marriage. Given your status as an illegitimate child, you’d already be marrying above your station. Just make sure she never catches you being unfaithful, or she might send you straight to the King of Hell.”
The wine in Zhou Ruo An’s glass sloshed. When Third Miss noticed, she burst out laughing. “Looks like you’re not exactly innocent yourself.”
Watching the gloom settle over Zhou Ruo An’s face, she asked softly, “So there’s already someone beside you?”
Zhou Ruo An drained half his glass in one go. “Someone who won’t stop clinging to me.”
“You can’t cut them off?”
Seeing him sigh, her smile widened. “Sounds like a fiery one. Or…” Her eyes narrowed. “Did you get her pregnant?”
The wineglass Zhou Ruo An had just raised paused halfway to his lips. He coughed lightly as an image of Lin Yi’s abdominal muscles flashed through his mind, leaving him inexplicably irritated. “Try being more ladylike.”
Third Miss snorted. “If you can’t cut them off and they can keep clinging to you, then there are feelings involved.”
“Bullshit.”
“You really don’t like them?”
Ripples spread through the wine in his glass once more. After a brief silence, Zhou Ruo An answered firmly, “That’s right. I don’t.”
The woman lazily withdrew her gaze and said indifferently, “As long as you don’t like them, cut them off. Then get ready to become the son-in-law of a prestigious family.”
She gathered her skirt and turned toward the banquet hall, but Zhou Ruo An suddenly called out to her. “Zhou Cong Xue. Are you really going to accept your fate?”
The woman slowly turned around. “When I was twelve, I willingly returned to the Zhou family. I traded myself for two million yuan to pay for my mother’s treatment. If you take someone’s money, you take on their troubles. I accepted this fate a long time ago.” She paused, her tone softening slightly. “Thank you for looking out for me in the Zhou family these past few months. They were only small things, but in all these years, no one had ever taken a scolding for me before. No one had ever replaced the sour preserved hawthorn I hated with sweet preserved fruit. So… thank you.”
With that, she stepped off the balcony. As she lifted the soft curtain, she turned back one last time. “Xia Cong Xue.” She looked directly at Zhou Ruo An. “My name is Xia Cong Xue. I took my mother’s surname.”
＊
Two hours later, Zhou Ruo An returned Lin Yi’s call.
Thirty minutes after that, he climbed into Lin Yi’s car. Leaning against the passenger seat, he closed his eyes and waited for the alcohol to wear off.
Lin Yi steered with one hand while the other gently stroked Zhou Ruo An’s hair. “Where to? Back to the old village or the apartment?”
Slowly opening his eyes, Zhou Ruo An glanced at the deserted street outside. “Pull over.”
Lin Yi parked by the roadside. His fingers slid to the back of Zhou Ruo An’s neck and began massaging gently. “What’s wrong? Not feeling well?”
“Lin Yi.” Zhou Ruo An narrowed his eyes slightly. His unfocused gaze carried traces of drunkenness, yet there was something captivating hidden within it, as though countless unspoken emotions lingered there, tugging at the heart. Leaning closer toward the driver’s seat, he pressed himself nearer to the man. “In bed, in the bathroom, on the balcony, even in the kitchen—you’ve forced me to do it everywhere. So why is the car the one place you forgot?”
One arm looped around Lin Yi’s shoulders while his fingers traced slowly across the broad expanse of his back. “We’ve never done it in the car.” His lips barely brushed Lin Yi’s mouth before slipping away again before the man could respond. They skimmed across his throat just as fleetingly before Zhou Ruo An slowly lowered his head farther.
The quiet interior of the car filled with the sound of a zipper being pulled. In the rearview mirror, however, Lin Yi’s gaze only grew colder and colder.
Ignoring the damp sensation and the pleasure that came with it, Lin Yi seized Zhou Ruo An by the hair and pulled him upright in one swift motion. Looking into those slightly reddened eyes, he asked coldly, “Young Master Zhou… what have you done to betray me this time?”