Yan Su Ang gave the concluding statement. “Then buy insurance first as a backup plan. After that, try making the fake relationship real. If that still doesn’t work, go steal an elementary-school kid’s lunchbox.”
Jia Zhi Qing continued: “……”
Xiao Bai asked, “Why steal an elementary-school kid’s lunchbox?”
Yan Su Ang said, “So he can spend a few days in prison and obtain government protection.”
Xiao Bai asked, “You go to prison for stealing a lunchbox?” He did not know much about the law, but sending someone to prison for stealing a lunchbox seemed a little harsh.
Gao Qin explained, “Given the way he looks, the police will assume he’s trying to steal the elementary-school kid.”
Xiao Bai asked, “Human trafficking?”
Jia Zhi Qing finally could not stand it anymore. “Even if you aren’t going to help me, do you really have to keep insulting me?”
Gao Qin said, “No. We don’t have to. We need to.”
“……”
Jia Zhi Qing had nothing to say.
Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives.
On Jia Zhi Qing’s phone screen, the two characters Miejue flashed continuously like eerie ghost fire.
Elio’s Notes: Miejue is a notoriously severe nun from Jin Yong’s wuxia novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. The nickname leads directly into the Yang Xiao and Ji Xiaofu jokes that follow.
Yan Su Ang watched Jia Zhi Qing’s hand hesitate and said leisurely, “Whatever you do, don’t expect time to dilute everything. In the short term, anger only burns hotter and hotter.”
Jia Zhi Qing gave him a resentful glare. Jealousy worked exactly the same way.
He answered the phone.
Mother Lian’s gentle voice was like a small hammer, striking Jia Zhi Qing’s fragile glass heart again and again.
“Where did you go so early? Did you complete your discharge procedures? Why didn’t you say anything before leaving?”
Jia Zhi Qing respectfully answered, “Something came up at the company. Gao Qin called me over to help.”
Gao Qin’s hand paused halfway through lifting his glass.
“Oh. Then when are you coming back? Should I have Jue Xiu pick you up?”
“No, no. Gao Qin will drive me back later.”
Gao Qin’s hand paused again while lowering the glass.
Mother Lian said gently, “Zhi Qing.”
The corner of Jia Zhi Qing’s eye twitched, and his voice became even more obedient. “Yes? Go ahead.”
“Gao Qin may be your cousin, but ultimately he’s still only a relative. You can’t keep troubling him.” Mother Lian’s voice remained light, yet brooked no argument. “What time will you finish work? I’ll have Jue Xiu pick you up.”
“……”
Jia Zhi Qing honestly answered, “Around one this afternoon.”
Mother Lian sounded satisfied. “Mm. Then work hard and take care of yourself. Don’t tire yourself out. Actually, it doesn’t matter if you don’t work. That little bit of money makes no difference either way. It’s not as though Jue Xiu can’t afford to support you.”
After the call ended, Yan Su Ang looked at Jia Zhi Qing’s miserable expression and kicked him while he was down. “At the very least, shouldn’t you be Yang Xiao boldly stealing Ji Xiaofu away? Why do you look more miserable than Ji Xiaofu after she gets beaten?”
Jia Zhi Qing snapped, “Then give me a Five Elements Banner to command!”
Yan Su Ang answered cheerfully, “Yang Xiao steals his wife single-handedly. If you need a whole army helping you, then you’re Yang Guang.”
Jia Zhi Qing opened his mouth, then finally tossed out, “I’m going to the toilet.”
Yan Su Ang said, “Out the door and turn left.”
Without looking back, Jia Zhi Qing left.
Gao Qin asked, “Are you sure Lian Jue Xiu is the wife?” Why did he remember Lian Jue Xiu being the one on top?
Yan Su Ang shrugged. “That’s something they can settle in bed. Assuming, of course, that their relationship ever develops that far.”
Gao Qin raised an eyebrow. “I sincerely look forward to that day. Then I won’t have to be Auntie Lian’s thorn in the flesh anymore.”
The doorbell suddenly rang loudly.
Xiao Bai got up to answer it.
Jia Zhi Qing charged back in, furious. “Turn left outside the door and you get the elevator! Also, shouldn’t a toilet be built inside the apartment?” Surely the architect had not designed such a huge apartment and somehow forgotten the toilet, forcing the owner to go outside and use a public one.
Yan Su Ang said, “Mine is a washroom.”
“……”
Wasn’t he obviously messing with him?
Jia Zhi Qing asked, “What’s the difference?”
Yan Su Ang said, “I thought you preferred the squatting kind.”
Jia Zhi Qing was about to explode when the corner of his eye suddenly caught Xiao Bai standing nearby looking completely bewildered. He remembered their conversation that night, and all his bristling fur immediately flattened again.
Sigh. Great God treating me this way is actually understandable. Who told me to be so irresistibly charming… sigh.
Filled with deep guilt and sympathy toward Yan Su Ang, Jia Zhi Qing silently entered the washroom.
Yan Su Ang stared after him. “Has he had a psychiatric evaluation recently?”
Gao Qin said, “He’s been getting them since childhood. Not once has he ever tested normal.”
Yan Su Ang: “……”
A phone began ringing.
Gao Qin and Yan Su Ang both looked at Xiao Bai.
Only Xiao Bai still stubbornly used such a plain ringtone.
Yet only a handful of people even knew Xiao Bai’s number, and more than half of them were already sitting in the apartment. That left only Lian Jue Xiu. What could he possibly want with Xiao Bai?
Neither Gao Qin nor Yan Su Ang said anything, but both men’s ears practically stood upright.
Xiao Bai took out his phone. The instant he saw the caller ID, his movements abruptly stopped.
Yan Su Ang could not resist asking, “Who is it?”
Xiao Bai’s eyes reddened. “Brother Ya Lun.”
“……”
There were only four numbers in Xiao Bai’s contact list. Feng Ya Lun’s was still the old domestic number from before he went abroad. If Feng Ya Lun’s name was appearing now, then that meant…
He was back.
Yan Su Ang turned toward Gao Qin, only to find him expressionlessly watching Xiao Bai answer the phone.
After dumping Jia Zhi Qing back at the company, Gao Qin drove around the streets aimlessly by himself.
His phone was connected to an earpiece and placed somewhere he could grab instantly. He had charged two batteries, and both were within reach. The one currently inside the phone was completely full. Everything was ready.
Only the phone itself remained stubbornly asleep.
His car kept circling the same roads. On the sixth lap, a traffic officer finally could not stand it anymore and stopped him.
Gao Qin lowered the window and looked at him coldly. His furrowed brows clearly warned that the officer had better have a very good reason.
“Are you lost?” the traffic officer asked.
“Am I not allowed to drive in circles unless I’m lost?” Gao Qin was a ticking bomb right now. Whoever approached him at this particular moment was going to get blown up.
Expressionless, the traffic officer held out a hand. “License and registration.”
Gao Qin sneered. “Driving in circles is illegal now?”
“Driving in circles isn’t illegal. Driving in circles against traffic is.” The officer paused. “Especially six times in a row.” Gao Qin had practically been treating him like a scarecrow.
“……”
After receiving the ticket, Gao Qin’s restless mood finally settled.
He had already driven against traffic for six entire laps. What else was there in life that he couldn’t do in reverse?
If Feng Ya Lun refused to come find him, did that mean Gao Qin couldn’t turn around and go find him?
The moment the thought occurred to him, Gao Qin abruptly stopped the car and dialed Xiao Bai’s number.
When he had heard the news about Feng Ya Lun earlier, he had said absolutely nothing. He had simply grabbed Jia Zhi Qing as he emerged from the washroom and left. So he had no idea whether Feng Ya Lun had actually returned or where he was now. The only thing he knew was that Feng Ya Lun had not come looking for him.
The first thing he did after returning to the country was actually not come looking for Gao Qin!
The call connected.
Xiao Bai’s cheerful laughter filled his ear.
Gao Qin asked, “What are you so happy about?”
“Brother Ya Lun invited me to karaoke.”
Yan Su Ang’s sour voice came from somewhere nearby. “I don’t care. I’m going too.”
Xiao Bai said, “But Brother Ya Lun didn’t invite you.”
“I’ll pay for myself!”
Gao Qin’s hand tightened around the phone. “Which place?”
“The one we went to last time…” Xiao Bai was still trying to remember the name when Yan Su Ang shouted in the background, “Pyramid!”
“Which room?”
“A603.”
Gao Qin rushed to Pyramid in a whirlwind, only to realize once he arrived that his brain had apparently stopped functioning—he had forgotten to ask what time they were meeting. Looking at people constantly entering and leaving the lobby, he silently sat down in a corner.
During the months Feng Ya Lun had been gone, he had basically sent back no news at all. Anything Gao Qin learned came from having Lian Jue Xiu investigate directly through Feng’s school.
Gao Qin had thought Feng Ya Lun needed time to settle himself and think.
After all, before leaving the country, Feng Ya Lun had carried the determination to burn his boats behind him. Gao Qin could tell that, at the time, Feng Ya Lun had planned never to return.
But in the end, just when Gao Qin admitted he had fallen too and was willing to sink with him, Feng Ya Lun had casually floated away holding his plank, leaving Gao Qin beneath the water to swing endlessly between hope and fear—
Would he come back? When would he come back?
What would he plan to do after returning?
And what was he planning to make of the relationship between them?
The questions knotted together like tangled adventure ropes, filling his head so completely that there was room for nothing but Feng Ya Lun.
Ma Rui’s call came chasing after him.
“What’s going on between Xiao Bai and Lin Bi Wei? Why did a magazine photograph them eating together?”
Gao Qin said blandly, “Because they’re both human. Humans die if they don’t eat.”
Ma Rui snapped, “I don’t have the time or the mood to listen to your cold jokes. Explain this clearly. Why did Xiao Bai get mixed up with Lin Bi Wei? It’s not like you don’t know what kind of mess Lin Bi Wei has gotten herself into lately! Back when the television station told me she was going to be Xiao Bai’s partner, I already felt there was something wrong. It’s obvious her agency wants to use Xiao Bai to clean up her reputation…”
Ma Rui’s voice gradually turned into smoke, twisting into tangled clouds and floating farther and farther away.
“Hello? Hello? Hello!” Ma Rui had talked until his mouth was dry without hearing Gao Qin make a single sarcastic remark. He finally realized something was wrong. “Don’t tell me you put your phone down somewhere and let me talk to myself?”
Gao Qin came back to himself and exhaled heavily. “I already discussed this with Lin Bi Wei’s agency. They didn’t know about it either. It seems Lin Bi Wei acted on her own. I warned them that if Xiao Bai’s image is negatively affected because of this, we’ll consider discussing a replacement partner with the television station. They agreed.”
Ma Rui immediately caught the key point. “So you already knew about this?”
“Mm. Right after they finished eating.”
Ma Rui said, “And it never occurred to you to tell me?”
“No.”
“……”
Very often, the truth hurt.
Ma Rui said furiously, “Gao Qin, from now on, before you speak, you’d better stop and remember that I’m your boss!”
Gao Qin: “……”
Ma Rui said unhappily, “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Gao Qin said calmly, “I’m thinking about the fact that ‘you’re my boss.’ I estimate it’ll take me two or three days to fully understand that fact, so I’ll call you once I’ve figured it out.”
Click.
The call ended.
His gaze fell on Pyramid’s entrance.
The glaring white sunlight seemed to melt the buildings across the street as two strikingly handsome men walked side by side out of the light and into the lobby.
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