Zhou Ruo An’s voice had gone hoarse again.
The instant the headlights went out, the cabin light dimmed with them. Dense darkness pressed into the car from every direction, like an old television with a broken screen—nothing could be seen, only hoarse, muffled sounds could be heard.
Occasionally, a car would speed past on the road. Light flashed by for an instant, briefly illuminating an exceptionally beautiful face.
His brows were faintly furrowed, his gaze unfocused, his neck arched high, one corner of his own shirt clenched between his teeth.
Whether he moved down or up, every uneven jolt was controlled by the pair of large hands at his waist. Whenever the pressure grew harsher, his neck would arch even higher, the hoarse sounds would deepen, and the shirt between his teeth would be bitten tighter. Beneath the stark white light, the young man’s body was as beautiful as a thin, narrow, curved blade.
The passing car vanished into the distance, its light disappearing as quickly as it had come, and the family car parked by the roadside was once again swallowed by darkness.
His head bumped the roof of the car, then dropped heavily again. After the vehicle sank deeply once, the shirt, already dark with damp, finally slipped from between his teeth. In the darkness, Zhou Ruo An’s rough, hoarse voice could be heard. “Lin Yi… I was wrong.”
The man seated in the back remained almost perfectly dressed. Leaning against the seatback, he looked at the young man’s blurred outline and asked, “Explain.”
“…I shouldn’t have… provoked other people.”
The words fell, but no response came. The fingers that had replaced the shirt lingered at his mouth, teasing briefly before pressing farther in.
The discomfort made Zhou Ruo An gag, and he pitched forward against Lin Yi’s shoulder.
Wiping the moisture from Zhou Ruo An’s face, Lin Yi leaned close to his ear and asked softly once more, “So what exactly did Young Master Zhou do wrong?”
Zhou Ruo An’s breathing was ragged and uneven. His throat hurt terribly, but he had no choice except to answer. “I shouldn’t have hidden the fact that Zhou Ran Ming knows my real identity from you.”
He knew better than anyone what Lin Yi wanted to hear, and he knew exactly how to make himself agreeable in a situation like this. “I wasn’t deliberately hiding it from you. You’ve had too much on your plate lately. I just didn’t want to give you one more thing to worry about.”
“Is there anything else you’re hiding from me? Think carefully before you answer.”
“I…”
Zhou Ruo An’s voice faltered in the darkness. Then he reached up and switched on the rear cabin light.
Soft light spilled down, revealing everything inside the car.
Lin Yi sat against the back seat, while Zhou Ruo An, his clothes disheveled, sat across his lap.
They were so close that their breaths mingled. Looking directly into Lin Yi’s eyes, Zhou Ruo An said, “Under Zhou Ran Ming’s orders, I poisoned Old Master Jin and made him senile.”
Lin Yi immediately frowned. “That’s impossible.”
Zhou Ruo An leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Lin Yi’s neck. “Let Brother Lin spare me today, and I’ll take you to see Old Master Jin after he’s gone senile.”
Lin Yi narrowed his eyes slightly and pulled him into his arms. “What’s so interesting about seeing that old man? Young Master Zhou should focus on what’s right in front of him.”
Reaching out, he switched off the cabin light.
As darkness reclaimed the interior, a long, drawn-out whimper sounded inside the car.
＊
The atmosphere inside a private room at the finest cha chaan teng in the city was somewhat solemn.
Elio’s Notes: A cha chaan teng is a Hong Kong-style café known for serving an eclectic mix of Cantonese and Western-influenced dishes, a style of dining that developed during Hong Kong’s colonial era.
Old Master Jin had been wheeled in. The old man’s frame looked thin and frail, his eyes clouded and unfocused, indifferent to the bustle around him as though his thoughts had been imprisoned somewhere far away. The hands that had once commanded the business world now hung gauntly at either side of the wheelchair, trembling uncontrollably from time to time, as if still trying in vain to grasp at former glory.
After placing a dish of steamed chicken feet in black bean sauce on the table, the Cantonese-speaking owner respectfully withdrew and closed the heavy soundproof door behind him.
Only three people remained in the room: Jin Hui, Zhou Ruo An, and Lin Yi.
Old Master Jin sat in the seat of honor, his gaze lowered to the plate before him, silent and motionless.
Unfolding a napkin, Zhou Ruo An tucked it beneath the old man’s chin and asked gently, “What would you like to eat? I’ll serve it for you.”
Those misty eyes lifted slightly. After looking over the dishes on the table, the old man raised a hand and reached directly for a shrimp dumpling. Zhou Ruo An hurriedly stopped him. “Did you forget what I told you? You’re supposed to use chopsticks when you eat.”
Across from them, Lin Yi leaned back in his chair and pulled out a cigarette, holding it between his lips. Before lighting it, he said casually, “Let him grab it. Don’t stop him.”
The expressions of the two people opposite him both froze slightly. The dull, vacant look on Jin Hui’s face cracked for an instant. The next moment, his trembling hand moved forward again, almost reaching the shrimp dumpling.
Only to be stopped once more by Zhou Ruo An. “Why are you still acting? He’s already seen through you. I told you your acting wasn’t good enough, but you wouldn’t believe me.”
Old Master Jin’s expression changed immediately. The numb emptiness vanished from his face. Clicking his tongue softly, he asked Lin Yi, “How did you figure out I was pretending? What did I do wrong?”
Leaning lazily against the back of his chair, cigarette between his fingers, Lin Yi replied, “You acted pretty well. There weren’t really any flaws.”
“Then how did you see through it?”
Lin Yi’s gaze shifted toward Zhou Ruo An. He studied every feature of the young man’s face before finally saying, “Young Master Zhou’s character may leave something to be desired, but he isn’t that ruthless. When someone treats him well, all he does is protect them. How could he possibly harm you?”
Zhou Ruo An froze. The fingers hanging at his side slowly curled inward. For some reason, warmth spread to the tips of his ears, and faint ripples stirred quietly within his heart.
Avoiding Lin Yi’s gaze, he muttered, “Fuck,” and sat back down.
No longer pretending to be senile, Old Master Jin returned to his usual demeanor. Straightening his back, he rested one arm on the table and looked directly at Lin Yi. “I’m the one who asked Xiao Zhou to bring you here.”
“You wanted to see me?” Lin Yi glanced at Zhou Ruo An, but the other man acted as though he hadn’t noticed the look at all, merely lowering his head with reddened ears and picking up food with his chopsticks.
Old Master Jin was meticulous when it came to dining etiquette. He first wiped his hands with a hot towel, then used his chopsticks to carefully brush aside the fermented black beans on the chicken feet before picking up a piece and placing it into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. As he did so, he said, “I may be old, but I’m still a businessman. If you owe me a favor, then you have to repay it.”
Lin Yi laughed. “Old Master, when have I ever owed you a favor?”
“I pretended to be senile and fooled Zhou Ran Ming. Only because of that did Zhou Ran Ming trust Xiao Zhou enough to hand him the deed to the ski resort property for safekeeping. Then Xiao Zhou used that deed to guarantee you. So tell me, do you owe me a favor or not?”
Lin Yi’s hand paused briefly as he removed the cigarette from his lips. He considered it for a moment before nodding in acknowledgment. “If you put it that way, then I really do owe you a favor. How would you like me to repay it?”
Jin Hui set down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and smiled. “There’s no rush. Xiao Lin, did you ever read the book I gave you last time? The one called How Teenagers Should Establish a Proper View of Love?”
Before he could finish speaking, Lin Yi coughed. After suppressing it, he reluctantly answered, “I read a few pages. Reading books gives me headaches. It’s been like that since I was a kid.”
Seeing Lin Yi at a loss, Zhou Ruo An was secretly delighted, but instinctively stepped in to smooth things over. “Because he doesn’t like reading, he’s spent most of his life without headaches. You shouldn’t expect him to ever finish that book you gave him.”
The old man did not pursue the matter. With a faint smile, he let it pass. Looking at Lin Yi, he once again took control of the conversation. “Since I helped you, that help can’t be free. I have one condition.”
Lin Yi nodded. “Please, go ahead.”
Jin Hui adjusted his cuff before slowly lifting his eyes. “As you know, I have no children and no descendants to carry on my name. My condition is this: after Xiao Zhou gets married and has children, one of those children must take the surname Jin. Do you agree?”
The spare rib slipped from Zhou Ruo An’s chopsticks and landed on the plate with a loud smack. Looking at Jin Hui, who appeared completely confident of victory, Zhou Ruo An wore an expression of pure misery. “Old man, I just escaped from one sea of suffering, and with a single sentence, you’ve thrown me right back into it.”
Jin Hui patted Zhou Ruo An on the shoulder and leaned over to whisper in his ear. “Don’t you dislike how he keeps clinging to you? I’m helping you get rid of him. If this works out, you can come be my real grandson.”
After saying that, Old Master Jin lifted his drooping eyelids and looked back at Lin Yi, his voice carrying a hint of coldness. “Xiao Lin, strictly speaking, this isn’t something I need your opinion on. But I’m a democratic man. Since we’re meeting face to face, I’ll ask anyway. If Zhou Ruo An’s future child takes my surname, do you agree? If you don’t, I’ll withdraw the deed immediately.”
Upon hearing that, Lin Yi’s expression did not change in the slightest. Taking a shallow drag from his cigarette, he waited until the smoke dispersed into the air before crushing the cigarette butt directly into the plate of steamed chicken feet in black bean sauce.
“I’ve already paid the remaining balance on our joint burial plot.” Lin Yi looked at Zhou Ruo An, his gaze seeming as though it had been frozen by the cold wind outside. “I’ll kill you first, then go kill Bai Jiu. After that, I’ll come back and lie down beside you.”
Hearing that, Zhou Ruo An sighed and said irritably to Old Master Jin, “Why do you keep provoking him when you have nothing better to do? I already told you his head is filled with nothing but those embarrassing little romantic feelings.”
Before he could finish speaking, his wrist was seized by Lin Yi. “Let’s go. We’re going home.” Lin Yi pulled him to his feet.
Zhou Ruo An was unwilling, but unable to resist. The two of them were half-dragging, half-pulling each other toward the door when Old Master Jin finally could not sit still any longer. Abandoning all pretenses of being a dignified elder, he hurriedly waved at their retreating backs. “Come back, come back! I’m not dead yet. How can you two be talking about being buried before me? I won’t withdraw the deed. And any future child Xiao Zhou has doesn’t need to take my surname either.”
Not mentioning “children” would have been one thing. The moment he did, Lin Yi simply bent down, hoisted Zhou Ruo An over his shoulder, and strode toward the door.
Zhou Ruo An did not want to embarrass himself. Even while hanging upside down over Lin Yi’s shoulder, he struggled to prop himself up and hissed into Lin Yi’s ear, “Fine, damn it. I’ll only have your children from now on, okay?”
Lin Yi’s footsteps stopped. “You said that yourself.”
Inside the private room, Old Master Jin looked at the two departing figures and shook his head helplessly. Taking up his teacup, he sipped lightly. “Young people these days… Forget it. Do whatever you want.”
Then he set the teacup down. “I’m still supposed to be pretending to be senile—you two can’t leave yet.”