“You really are fucking worthy of being related to Sheng Yu. He monitors Tong Yan, and you monitor me. What, once you leave work behind, you don’t know how to behave like a normal person anymore? Or do you just enjoy being overtime dogs? Should I collect two ‘Dedication’ blessing cards and give one to each of you?”
Elio’s Notes: The “Dedication” card is a joke about Alipay’s annual Five Blessings card-collecting event. Xue Bao Tian is essentially handing Yan Ye and Sheng Yu an award for being absurdly devoted to their jobs.
It was evening rush hour, and cars were difficult to call. Xue Bao Tian lowered the arm he had been holding up and strode down the road with a dark expression.
Midsummer heat rolled through the city. His back was soaked with sweat after only a few steps, and it was not until they passed a subway entrance, where icy air-conditioning rushed out of the passage, that he finally felt some relief.
Yan Ye pulled Xue Bao Tian to a stop, speaking in the gentlest possible tone. “Get angry here, Two Hundred. It’s cooler.”
Xue Bao Tian’s old fist had landed on cotton. The words he had just thrown out came flying back like a boomerang and stabbed into his own chest. His own talent for picking up garbage was apparently even worse than You Shu Lang’s. At least Fan Xiao was only bad, not fucking stupid.
Being angry all by himself was boring. Xue Bao Tian followed the stairs into the subway station, found an empty corner, leaned against the wall, and said, “You have ten minutes. Explain.”
In that secluded corner, Yan Ye’s tall frame almost completely blocked Xue Bao Tian from view. He remained perfectly unhurried and even straightened Xue Bao Tian’s collar for him.
“There isn’t much to explain. After you were attacked in Chuanqi County, I was afraid you’d be in danger again, so I installed location tracking and monitoring on your phone.”
Xue Bao Tian frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“If I’d told you, would you have agreed to install them? Back then, you had no idea how dangerous your situation was. It wasn’t only the debt collectors watching you. There were also people you’d offended in the past. In our line of work, we keep contacts among local thugs and hooligans too. According to what we heard at the time, more than two or three people were willing to pay someone to teach you a lesson.”
Xue Bao Tian knew Yan Ye was telling the truth. Irritated, he instinctively reached for a cigarette, then remembered they were in a subway station and switched to a breath-freshening candy instead. He tore open the wrapper and put it into his mouth.
The sweet orange flavor had barely touched his tongue when someone’s fingers rudely intercepted the flat, ring-shaped candy.
Yan Ye released Xue Bao Tian’s jaw, snapped the candy in half, and used his fingertip to push one piece back into Xue Bao Tian’s mouth. Before withdrawing, his finger even hooked lightly across the slick softness inside.
“You bastard.” Xue Bao Tian sucked on the half piece of candy while rubbing his jaw. “What priceless treasure is this? Even half a candy is worth stealing?”
Against the noisy background, Yan Ye’s shameless voice reached his ears perfectly clearly. “My cigarette craving kicked in. My mouth keeps wanting something to chew on.”
The words were far too familiar, familiar enough to make Xue Bao Tian’s chest hurt.
Fuck. He crunched the remaining half of the candy between his teeth, wanting to end the subject. “Since you’ve invented such a convincing excuse, Master Xue will fucking turn a blind eye this time.”
Yan Ye, meanwhile, remained annoyingly refined, slowly sucking away the orange sweetness. “I secretly helped Master Xue several times before and never collected any reward. Since we’re talking about it now, Master Xue should remember that debt.”
Xue Bao Tian pressed a fingertip hard against the cigarette scar on Yan Ye’s shoulder through his clothes. “I’m letting you have me now. What the fuck else do you want?”
With his mouth full of orange sweetness, Yan Ye braced one arm against the wall and leaned toward Xue Bao Tian’s ear. “When I collect, Master Xue will find out.”
Xue Bao Tian found it ticklish and shoved him away. “Get lost. Go uninstall all that shit from my phone. I’m not in danger anymore.”
Yan Ye checked the time, then pulled him through the subway gate. “The monitoring can go, but keep the location tracking for now. Also, place an order through Yanyue and hire me as your personal bodyguard. I’ll pay for it myself, but I need you to cooperate with the paperwork.”
Amid the passing crowd, Xue Bao Tian smiled darkly. “Every time I open or close my eyes, in front of me or behind me, it’s you? If you were black and white and spent all day chewing bamboo, I might consider it.”
Yan Ye glanced at the giant panda display hanging on the subway wall and looked helpless. “You’re in a powerful position now, but your foundation still isn’t stable. You need to be careful. Besides, your mouth never spares anyone. You keep making enemies. We still have to guard against people attacking you openly or behind your back.”
“Fuck.” After thinking carefully about his position and circumstances, Xue Bao Tian compromised. “You need to stay at Yanyue. Don’t underestimate Sheng Yu. He isn’t easy to deal with. As for the bodyguard, just assign me someone good.” He raised an eyebrow. “How about Zhou Yi Ming?”
Once they boarded the subway, the two moved to the side, and Yan Ye habitually positioned Xue Bao Tian behind him. “He took over protecting Lin Zhi Yi for me.” The dark carriage window reflected the faint curve of his lips. “Apparently his salary has almost been deducted to nothing.”
Xue Bao Tian observed three seconds of silence for Zhou Yi Ming in his heart, then immediately forgot about him.
By the time they finalized the bodyguard arrangement, the subway had reached their destination. According to the phone map, the station was still almost two kilometers from Xue Bao Tian’s hotel.
The sun had already sunk below the horizon, leaving only a faint halo behind. Buildings near the subway entrance lit up in neon, pale-blue bands of light reflecting beautifully across the surrounding water.
Xue Bao Tian narrowed his eyes. Five large golden characters entered his vision: Binjiang Concert Hall.
“…”
Street food was never difficult to find around a subway entrance. Yan Ye bought a serving of ranmian and a grilled sweet-potato starch sheet. After walking a dozen or so meters, he sat beside Xue Bao Tian on a bench in the music plaza.
Elio’s Notes: Ranmian, literally “burning noodles,” is a spicy dry noodle dish associated with Yibin in Sichuan.
Xue Bao Tian ate a few bites of ranmian, then switched to the grilled starch sheet. Yan Ye began eating too and eventually finished everything Xue Bao Tian left behind.
“Ever listened to one?” Xue Bao Tian lifted his chin toward the concert hall.
“Not inside there.” Holding the disposable noodle bowl, Yan Ye suddenly looked a little lonely. “Back when I was trying to be friends with you, I felt awful. Zhou Yi Ming told me I should look forward. To be honest, because it hurt so much, I really did think about moving on.”
Bitterness and confusion entered his normally calm eyes. Looking ahead, Yan Ye continued quietly, “Lin Zhi Yi has a circle of people like us. They occasionally hold gatherings, and I accompanied him a few times. At my worst, I thought maybe I should try seeing what was good about other people. They were knowledgeable, funny, courteous, refined. They listened to piano music, played chess, and talked about business affairs I couldn’t understand.”
In the glow of the streetlamp, Yan Ye looked at Xue Bao Tian and smiled. “They really were much better than you.”
Xue Bao Tian smiled too, biting an unlit cigarette as he muttered, “Fuck.”
The depths of Yan Ye’s smiling eyes remained dark. He finished in a hoarse voice, “But it felt wrong. I tried as hard as I could and still couldn’t make myself like those things. The moment someone played piano music, my eyelids got heavy and I wanted to sleep.”
With one arm stretched along the bench, Xue Bao Tian’s laughter shook through his chest. He took the cigarette from his mouth, looked into the empty night, and sighed. “Right? I’m fucking allergic to elegance too. If I have free time, I might as well drink, hold some women…”
His voice abruptly stopped. He raised one hand guiltily to block Yan Ye’s gaze. “Habit. Forgive me.”
Yan Ye knew when to overlook small things. He gazed into the distance, and the words he spoke seemed almost meant only for himself. “Two Hundred, you’re very troublesome. You swear constantly, you never leave anyone any dignity when you attack them, you act without considering the consequences, and no one can compare with you when it comes to causing trouble. Being with you means worrying every day that someone will retaliate against you.”
Xue Bao Tian finally lit the cigarette, held the smoke in his mouth, gave a heavy “Mm,” then slowly exhaled. “Let me fucking think about my wording and figure out how I’m going to curse you.”
Yan Ye’s smile deepened. He reached out and rubbed Xue Bao Tian’s fluffy hair. “Exactly. That mouth never spares anyone.”
His thumb stroked the hair at Xue Bao Tian’s temple. His gaze remained distant and empty, and his voice was faint, like perfectly still water in the city moat.
“Xue Bao Tian, I know every flaw you have. I can list every problem with you. I know any of those people would probably make a more suitable partner than you. But…” He paused. “I still miss you. I want to stay beside you. Sometimes I even think it’s good just to hear you curse me a few times.”
Sitting beneath the streetlamp, Xue Bao Tian clicked his tongue. White light coated his lowered lashes as he asked, “You’re good-looking enough. Nobody ever tried anything with you?”
“Yes. Someone talked to me about poetry and art. When he realized I wasn’t saying much, he switched to horse racing and gambling. There were fiery sunset clouds that day, and he casually recited, ‘The sunset clouds and the lone wild duck fly together.’ I remember thinking, look, he’s so much better than Xue Bao Tian. Cultured. Not illiterate. What could you possibly still be hung up on?”
Xue Bao Tian dragged out his words. “Exactly. What could you possibly still be hung up on?”
Yan Ye ignored him and continued. “We’d barely spoken before he tried to drag me into bed.”
Xue Bao Tian’s fingers tightened around his cigarette. He glanced over calmly.
Yan Ye shook his head with a quiet laugh. “I panicked. I actually felt like I was betraying you. But by then, we hadn’t spoken for two months and fourteen days. I’d sent you thirteen postcards, and you hadn’t answered me on WeChat even once. Yet somehow I still felt like I belonged to you, and that going with someone else would be wrong.”
White smoke slowly drifted around Xue Bao Tian’s mouth, disguising the brief flash of smugness in his expression. “Have you ever wondered whether you’d still like me if the first person you met hadn’t been me?”
Yan Ye was silent for a while before answering directly. “Probably not.” His palm gently rubbed through Xue Bao Tian’s hair as he bent closer. “But there aren’t that many ifs. The fact is, when I was twenty-one, the person I met was Xue Bao Tian. He was very handsome, very fair, had an adorable personality, a kind heart, a sense of responsibility and courage, was smart, and knew how to work hard.”
“Stop, stop.” Xue Bao Tian’s face reddened slightly as he laughed. “Are you fucking talking about me? Where did you memorize this from?”
His voice was light, immediately scattered by the night breeze. Xue Bao Tian tilted his head slightly, pressing his cheek into Yan Ye’s palm and gently rubbing against the calluses there.
Yan Ye’s gaze slowly heated, like sparks leaping through the dark. “Two Hundred, thank you for giving me another chance. I’ll pursue you properly and try to make you fall in love with me as soon as possible.”
Pursuit? Those two words suddenly became as tempting as Tang Seng’s flesh. Since his bed was no longer empty, then fuck it, let Yan Ye pursue him. Tang Seng’s flesh did not come along often. He might as well eat whatever bites he could get.
Elio’s Notes: In Journey to the West, demons believe eating Tang Seng’s flesh will grant immortality. Calling something “Tang Seng’s flesh” means it is an exceptionally rare and irresistible prize.
“Go ahead and pursue me. Master Xue will lower himself a little for you. Otherwise I’m too high for you to reach.” Xue Bao Tian patted Yan Ye’s shoulder. “Perform well, little idiot.”
Yan Ye smiled and pulled him in for a kiss. In a low voice, he said, “Two Hundred, let’s go on a date tonight.”
Xue Bao Tian became slightly expectant. “What kind of date?”
Yan Ye pointed toward the nearby concert hall.
Xue Bao Tian froze. “What the fuck are you thinking?”
“We’ll listen once tonight. If we get used to it, maybe tomorrow we won’t get sleepy.”
Xue Bao Tian wiped the dampness from his lips and cursed meaningfully, “Maybe this piece of Tang Seng’s flesh isn’t fucking worth eating after all.”
The following evening, Xue Bao Tian and Yan Ye arrived for the concert on time. Even when the music began onstage, the two seats beside them remained empty.
Yan Ye pressed Xue Bao Tian’s head against his shoulder. “Sleep. They aren’t coming tonight.”
Xue Bao Tian lowered his voice. “How do you know?”
A dark glimmer flashed through Yan Ye’s eyes. “I used an anonymous number to send Director You a message.” He glanced at Xue Bao Tian. “Basically, I tattled.”
“About what Fan Xiao was plotting yesterday?” Xue Bao Tian looked at the two empty seats. “So Fan Xiao is being punished right now?”
“That You Shu Lang looks pretty gentle.”
Listening to the sleep-inducing piano music, Xue Bao Tian leaned against the broad shoulder and closed his eyes, the corners of his lips curving wickedly. “That’s because you don’t know him. The only person who can handle Fan Xiao is Director You.”
Several kilometers away, inside an upscale hotel, the curtains were drawn so tightly that not a trace of light could enter. You Shu Lang sat in a carved high-backed chair, slowly pulling black leather gloves over his hands.
His cool, austere gaze lifted toward the man standing before him in nothing but a white shirt.
The corner of his mouth rose. “Kneel.”