When Lin Yi threw Zhou Ruo An onto the bed, the snow-white veil drifted down like mist. He pinned the other man’s struggling legs with one knee and, through the thin gauze, caught both restless wrists. “Does tonight count as our wedding night?”
The white gauze was light and hazy, yet it still obscured his vision. Zhou Ruo An looked at the shameless “bride” pressing close to him and clenched his jaw until it ached. “Lin Yi, you fucking think throwing on some ragged veil means you can be with me?” He lifted his chin, leaned closer, and deliberately humiliated him in a low voice. “At the very least, you should be wearing a wedding dress like Xu Yi Han’s, shouldn’t you?”
Lin Yi suddenly lowered his head, the white gauze lying between their lips. The coarse weave brushed against them, like kissing thorns through morning mist.
“Sure.” Lin Yi rubbed across his lower lip through the thin veil. “If An An likes looking at it, I’ll wear one for you when we make the return visit in three days.”
“What return visit in three days?”
“We marry during the day and spend our wedding night together,” Lin Yi said, his fingers pressing against the blue veins at Zhou Ruo An’s wrist. “Then three days later, we go back to pay our respects to the elders.”
His rough fingertips ground slowly over Zhou Ruo An’s pulse as his low voice continued, “Don’t worry. I’ll go kowtow at Old Man Ding’s grave. If that isn’t enough… I can kowtow to Old Master Jin too.”
“You fucking…” Zhou Ruo An had barely begun to curse when his jaw was suddenly caught in an ironlike grip. Their breaths mingled through the veil, and even through the haze, the hostility in Lin Yi’s gaze was unmistakable. “If I hadn’t arrived in time today…” His fingers slowly moved downward and closed around Zhou Ruo An’s throat. “Would you already be lying in someone else’s bed right now?”
“I…” Zhou Ruo An had barely forced out a single word when the pressure at his throat abruptly tightened.
“You promised me. Even if I died, you’d mourn me for three years.” Lin Yi’s voice was as light as a sigh. “But I was only inside for three months, Zhou Ruo An, and you already got engaged to someone else.”
With that, he suddenly released him, rose, and switched on the wall lamp.
In the dim yellow light, Lin Yi walked over to the storage cabinet, picked up a dagger, drew it from its sheath, and looked down at the sharp blade.
The cold gleam of the dagger made Zhou Ruo An frown slightly. He slowly sat up. “What are you planning to do?”
Holding the knife, Lin Yi walked toward Zhou Ruo An one step at a time. The wall lamp shone from behind him, casting a long shadow ahead that swallowed Zhou Ruo An little by little.
“We got married today, so we should at least go through some kind of ceremony. Since we don’t have nuptial wine, we’ll seal a pact in blood instead.”
He seized Zhou Ruo An’s hand and pressed the tip of the blade against his pale fingertip.
“Lin Yi, you’re fucking insane!” The sharp pain of the blade piercing his fingertip cut off the curse. The instant blood welled up, Lin Yi lowered his head and took the injured finger into his mouth. He lingered only until the metallic taste of blood spread before letting go.
Immediately afterward, he turned the blade toward his own fingertip. Zhou Ruo An’s pupils contracted as an identical wound opened on Lin Yi’s finger. The bloodied finger was pressed into his mouth, and the instant the taste of blood reached his tongue, a hand clamped firmly around the back of his neck.
There was nowhere to retreat. Only after the blood had mixed between them did Lin Yi withdraw his finger. The next moment, he kissed Zhou Ruo An hard.
The metallic taste spread between them, drops of blood staining their lips. That blood-bound vow felt more unforgettable than any written contract.
When the frantic kiss finally ended, Lin Yi pressed his forehead against Zhou Ruo An’s and said in a low voice, “If you dare betray me again, I’ll break your legs and keep you locked beside me forever.”
＊
A moment of a spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold—Zhou Ruo An thought that was fucking bullshit.
There certainly was the weight of “a thousand gold” pressing down on him. His ankles were locked, and the chain rattled throughout the night.
Lin Yi had gone without for three months, and he was still angry, so naturally there was no consideration or gentleness to speak of. He had never learned how to behave like a decent person, but he was remarkably good at acting like a beast. He tied the white veil where it had no business being tied, tugged on it lightly, and forced Zhou Ruo An to answer, “Is it pretty?”
Zhou Ruo An was so humiliated and furious he wanted to die. In a hoarse voice, he cursed, “Lin Yi, you’re a fucking pervert.”
Lin Yi felt no shame whatsoever. Once he had made enough trouble, he draped the light gauze over the softest place again.
A palm came down, making the contours beneath the gauze jolt. Zhou Ruo An cried out in pain, only to be struck again immediately afterward.
In the end, only after Lin Yi had traced every curve of flesh and bone through the white gauze did he twist it into a long cord and use it to lift Zhou Ruo An’s legs.
At first, Zhou Ruo An could still cling to a little backbone and occasionally curse under his breath. Halfway through, however, he admitted defeat. Forgetting both pride and dignity, he wrapped his arms around Lin Yi’s neck and exhausted every soft word he could think of.
“Brother Lin… listen to me explain. I really had no choice… Besides, all of it was fake. You know that. It was all fake.” Lin Yi’s eyes darkened. “All I know… is that you told Ren Yu not to let me find out about your engagement.”
Another hard strike made the white gauze tremble violently. Zhou Ruo An’s neck arched sharply, and the last thought that flashed through his mind was, I’m docking Ren Yu’s pay…
＊
At three in the morning, in the small hospital nearest the urban village, Zhou Ruo An and Lin Yi—one sitting, the other standing—waited for the nurse to give them tetanus shots.
Zhou Ruo An’s waist ached. He slouched bonelessly against the plastic chair without the slightest regard for posture, raising his bandaged index finger to examine it beneath the light. A faint yellow medicinal stain had seeped into the edge of the gauze, rather like everything he had experienced that day—not particularly beautiful.
“Lin Yi.” He turned to look at the man leaning against the wall. “You’re getting crazier and crazier.”
Lin Yi’s right index finger was likewise wrapped in gauze. He walked over and sat beside Zhou Ruo An, elbows braced on his knees as he leaned slightly forward and tilted his head to study the young man’s faintly angry face.
His gaze traced him with extraordinary care, almost inch by inch, from his trembling lashes to the tight line of his lips. Lin Yi’s eyes were filled entirely with Zhou Ruo An.
His ears growing slightly hot, Zhou Ruo An shifted backward in his seat and pretended to be annoyed. “What are you looking at?”
“I haven’t seen you for three months. Of course I have to get a good look at you.” Lin Yi stated it plainly, as though he were not saying anything remotely romantic, yet somehow it embarrassed Zhou Ruo An even more than sweet talk would have.
“When you were tossing me around just now…” Zhou Ruo An abruptly fell silent and turned his face aside. “It’s not like you didn’t look.”
“I was angry, and… I ate a little too quickly.” Lin Yi reached out and brushed the loose hair from the young man’s forehead. “I didn’t get a proper look.” Zhou Ruo An slapped a palm over Lin Yi’s face as it drew closer and pushed him away. “Other people lose a whole layer of weight doing time. You came out looking practically radiant.”
“Regular schedule.” Lin Yi took the opportunity to catch his wrist. “Three meals on time.”
The night was cool, and a breeze moved through the corridor. Lin Yi tugged Zhou Ruo An slightly closer and turned sideways to shield him from the draft.
Zhou Ruo An struggled once but failed to break free, so he simply let him be. “Inside… no one gave you trouble?”
“The name Lin San of Jiangbei still carries some weight.” Lin Yi’s thumb rubbed over his wrist bone. “No one wanted to invite that kind of bad luck.”
At those words, Zhou Ruo An abruptly turned serious. “Did you plan from the beginning to send Bai Jiu and Wang Zhi Ping inside?”
“Mm.” Lin Yi’s eyes darkened. “Having Jiao Chen’s man attack Bai Jiu was only a feint. The point was to make Wang Zhi Ping cut off the villa’s security system and drug the security personnel unconscious. Bai Ban and I used the window while Bai Jiu was under attack to open his safe and get the evidence of his and Wang Zhi Ping’s crimes.”
Zhou Ruo An mentally ran through every step of the plan and sucked in a cold breath. “Lin Yi, you actually set up such an enormous game. Weren’t you afraid one wrong move would drag you down with it?”
“I was the legal representative of those companies. Sooner or later, I would have had to take the fall for Bai Jiu. When you’re standing on the edge of a blade, how can you not fight back? Besides…” The man paused briefly. “Bai Jiu set his sights on you. I had no choice but to take the risk and move the plan forward.”
There was no wind in front of Lin Yi. Zhou Ruo An fell silent for a moment, then edged a little closer to him. “What are you planning to do from now on?” Lin Yi gently took his injured hand, his fingertip rubbing along the edge of the gauze. “The illegal parts of the companies Bai Jiu placed under my name have already been seized. But there are still legitimate businesses in logistics, building materials, and import-export. I’ve completed the asset restructuring, preserved the core supply chain, and renegotiated compliant agreements with our upstream and downstream partners. Right now, every cent passing through the nine companies under my name can withstand scrutiny.”
“You transferred Bai Jiu’s assets?” Zhou Ruo An’s eyes widened slightly.
Lin Yi suddenly leaned forward and dropped a light kiss onto his lips. “I’m the legal representative. The equity is clear, and the finances are independent.” A sharp gleam flashed through his eyes. “Legally, they were always mine. They had nothing to do with Bai Jiu.”
“Fuck.” Zhou Ruo An laughed and pushed the clingy Lin Yi away. “And you still call me treacherous. You’re even more calculating than I am.” He lowered his eyes to their identically bandaged index fingers, the gauze lightly brushing together. “South City and North City used to keep each other in check. Now that Bai Jiu’s fallen, Jiao Chen will probably become the boss of Yan City.”
Their fingers hooked together. Lin Yi tightened his grip on Zhou Ruo An’s hand and slowly said, “Not necessarily.”
Zhou Ruo An’s relaxed back stiffened. He abruptly looked at Lin Yi. “What do you mean? Don’t tell me you still want to go back and wade into that muddy water.”
“Whether the water is muddy or clear,” Lin Yi said, his gaze burning, “depends on how the person sitting in the top chair manages it. It’s about time South City cleared out the silt and changed its water too.”
The moment he finished speaking, the old spring-hinged door opened with a creak. A young nurse waved at them through a yawn. “Come in for your shots.”
Lin Yi rose and headed toward the treatment room first. Watching his tall, straight back, Zhou Ruo An suddenly called out, “Lin Yi…”
The man turned. Seeing the worry in Zhou Ruo An’s eyes, he doubled back beneath the nurse’s gaze and pulled him into his arms. “Zhou Ruo An, with a habitual offender like you, if I don’t stand a little higher, how am I supposed to keep watch over you?”
“You…”
Lin Yi kissed him lightly, a trace of softness entering his steady voice. “Don’t worry, An An. I’m not Bai Jiu. I have someone I want to protect, and I want to grow old with him… until our hair turns white.”