The moment Lian Jue Xiu heard from Jia Zhi Qing that Feng Ya Lun had returned, he immediately called Yan Su Ang for an update. Once he learned they were at Pyramid, he rushed over without stopping.
By the time they arrived, Yan Su Ang, Xiao Bai, and Vincent were happily eating fruit in Room B603.
The first thing Lian Jue Xiu said after entering was, “Where’s Feng Ya Lun?”
Yan Su Ang pointed upstairs.
Lian Jue Xiu asked, “Why aren’t you together?”
Yan Su Ang and Vincent immediately developed strange expressions.
Yan Su Ang coughed dryly. “Because we’re respectable gentlemen.”
Lian Jue Xiu and Jia Zhi Qing instantly understood.
Lian Jue Xiu looked suspiciously at him. “And then you just came back down?” When a live performance like that was happening, shouldn’t it be impossible to drag anyone away?
Jia Zhi Qing whispered, “Great God is probably afraid he’ll get excited and end up both envious and jealous.”
Lian Jue Xiu glanced toward Xiao Bai and immediately understood.
The two of them gazed admiringly at the pure couple who were already cohabiting close friends yet still limited themselves to holding hands. Their admiration was mostly directed at Great God. It was rare for someone to have been lustful for this long without his lust ever producing enough courage.
Yan Su Ang naturally knew exactly what they were thinking, but since it happened to be true, he could not exactly argue. He could only give a sour snort. “Allow me to introduce our international friend, Vincent.”
Vincent showed a row of perfectly white teeth.
Lian Jue Xiu asked, “Actor or director? I don’t think I’ve seen him in the news.”
Yan Su Ang said, “He was Feng Ya Lun’s classmate in America. He came along to travel around China.”
Jia Zhi Qing said, “Come to think of it, I’ve never known what Feng Ya Lun was studying in America.”
Lian Jue Xiu said, “Chinese.”
Jia Zhi Qing: “……”
Xiao Bai smiled. “Brother Ya Lun must be very good at school. He graduated so quickly.”
Lian Jue Xiu and Yan Su Ang: “……”
Vincent said in terrible Chinese, “Me Chinese… speak, speak, also. Good.”
Lian Jue Xiu wiped a hand over his face. “I’d rather listen to Xiao Bai sing.”
Jia Zhi Qing’s face immediately turned pale.
Xiao Bai happily nodded. “Mm. Yan Su Ang said we absolutely had to wait until you arrived before we started.”
Yan Su Ang smiled. Naturally. Otherwise, what if they reached the door, heard the singing, and were blasted straight back out?
Lian Jue Xiu and Jia Zhi Qing smiled bitterly. Before coming, they had enthusiastically insisted they had nothing else to do and plenty of time.
Downstairs, the shaking began.
Upstairs, the shaking had finished.
Gao Qin was still unwilling to stop, working hard to leave mark after mark on Feng Ya Lun’s body.
Feng Ya Lun looked at the little red strawberries covering his skin and angrily shoved away the head approaching him again. “Are you ever going to finish?!”
Gao Qin remained sprawled over him. “With you? Never.”
How had Feng Ya Lun never noticed before that Gao Qin could be this shameless?
He sighed. Then again, how had he once been stupid enough to not only hope Gao Qin would become shameless, but frequently dream about him becoming shameless?
Gao Qin persistently buried himself against Feng Ya Lun’s shoulder and continued biting.
Helpless, Feng Ya Lun said, “How am I supposed to go out and see anyone looking like this?”
“Then don’t see anyone.” Gao Qin kept biting while thinking that if he had known this day would come, he never should have restrained himself in the past. He had wasted years of perfectly good food for nothing.
“But Vincent doesn’t know his way around…” Feng Ya Lun finally remembered the innocent foreigner they had abandoned outside the elevator.
Gao Qin stopped, raised his head, and stared at him with bright, penetrating eyes.
“What?” Feng Ya Lun began feeling uneasy under that stare. Not again, right?
He nervously tried to shift sideways, but the instant he moved, his backside hurt as though it were about to tear for the second time, and his entire face twisted.
Gao Qin sighed and gently massaged his lower back with one hand. “Who exactly is that foreigner?”
Feng Ya Lun’s eyes rolled around. Smiling, he asked, “Jealous?”
Gao Qin admitted it without hesitation. “A little, at first.”
“Oh? What about afterward?”
“Then I thought…” Gao Qin said, “that guy looks far too stupid. Your taste can’t possibly be that bad.” If Feng Ya Lun had poor taste, he would not have spent so many years targeting Gao Qin. Gao Qin’s opinion of himself remained excellent.
The pressure of Gao Qin’s hands was just right, and Feng Ya Lun involuntarily let out a groan.
Gao Qin’s movements froze. “If you keep seducing me, I make no guarantees about what happens next.”
“Get lost! Don’t even think about it!” Feng Ya Lun’s eyes flew wide open, his face immediately filling with vigilance.
Gao Qin released him and slowly stood.
Feng Ya Lun looked at him. “What are you doing?”
“Going to meet the foreigner you brought home.” Even if Vincent was not a genuine threat, appropriate preventative measures still needed to be taken to reduce the danger level to its absolute minimum.
Feng Ya Lun said irritably, “Does that require wearing my underwear?” There was a major difference between briefs and boxers, okay? How could someone put on the wrong pair by accident?
The corner of Gao Qin’s mouth rose. He slowly licked his lips, the meaning impossible to miss. “Since I’ve already ‘worn’ you, what difference does one pair of underwear make?”
Feng Ya Lun lifted his stiff leg and kicked Gao Qin hard in the ankle.
Of course, with the amount of strength he had at the moment, Gao Qin interpreted it entirely as sweet flirtation.
Once they were properly dressed, Gao Qin called to confirm which room Yan Su Ang and the others were in, then supported Feng Ya Lun downstairs.
If Gao Qin had gotten his way, the two of them would simply have gone home and continued loving each other. Foreigners, Xiao Bai—everyone else could be left aside to fend for themselves. They were all eighteen-year-old adults, after all. Even if they genuinely got lost, nobody could hold Gao Qin responsible. Besides, Xiao Bai had Yan Su Ang beside him. If the puppy wandered off, the leash was still attached, so nothing could go seriously wrong. As for the foreigner, his embassy could protect him. If the embassy failed to do so in time, then one could only sigh that fortune had abandoned him and Heaven itself intended his destruction. Alas, alas. Feng Ya Lun, however, insisted that Xiao Bai had been invited by him and Vincent had been brought by him, so he had to take responsibility.
Thus, just as Xiao Bai and Vincent were singing themselves hoarse, the private-room door opened.
Gao Qin and Feng Ya Lun appeared with their arms around each other.
Years later, Jia Zhi Qing described that moment this way: “Just when I thought this exact day next year would be the anniversary of my death, the door opened and sunlight poured in. It was like a drowning man grabbing driftwood, a starving man grabbing a steamed bun. Life returned to me in an instant. I thought I was seeing angels.”
Lian Jue Xiu’s version was much shorter. “The door opened. I saw those two. I was satisfied. Two more fellow sufferers!”
Actually, the instant the door opened, Feng Ya Lun was frightened too.
He had never heard either Xiao Bai or Vincent unleash their singing voices before. He had never expected the effect to be so… bizarre.
“Brother Ya Lun!” Delighted, Xiao Bai tried to rush over, only for the quick-eyed Yan Su Ang to grab him immediately. In Feng Ya Lun’s current condition, he probably did not even need Xiao Bai to crash into him. A strong gust of wind might knock him over. Of course, before the wind ever reached him, the wall named Gao Qin would block every bit of it.
Feng Ya Lun smiled at the struggling Xiao Bai. “Xiao Bai, long time no see. Has Yan Su Ang been bullying you lately?”
Xiao Bai shook his head. “No. He even asked me to move in and live with him.”
“……”
And that wasn’t bullying?
Yan Su Ang’s already rather irritating face became even more irritating.
Unfortunately, Feng Ya Lun was currently having enough trouble protecting himself and had neither the strength nor ability to intervene.
Seeing Gao Qin made Vincent somewhat frightened. He carefully smiled. “Good… friend?”
Gao Qin stared steadily at him. Only when Vincent was preparing to shrink his large frame behind Xiao Bai did Gao Qin slowly curl his lips. “Me. Gao Qin.”
Vincent breathed out in relief and offered his hand. “Me. Vincent.”
Gao Qin pretended not to see the hand and turned to Feng Ya Lun. “Met him in America?”
Feng Ya Lun was being tormented nearly insane by the pain in his backside. Through clenched teeth, he said, “Mm. Classmate.”
Seeing the expressions on their faces, Vincent quickly withdrew his hand.
This Gao Qin was terrifying. How had Allen managed to end up looking like a completely different person after only a little while in his hands?
Jia Zhi Qing snatched the microphone out of Vincent’s hand and shoved it into Feng Ya Lun’s. “Why don’t you sing one?” Of the five people earlier, the only one who could actually sing had stubbornly refused to perform and instead insisted on supporting Xiao Bai as microphone hog.
As for Jia Zhi Qing and Lian Jue Xiu, both knew perfectly well that they could never out-howl Xiao Bai, so there was no point trying. Vincent, meanwhile…
Gao Qin said, “I thought I heard him singing with Xiao Bai earlier. He can sing in Chinese?” In the elevator his Chinese had clearly been dreadful. Was he pretending to be a pig so he could eat a tiger? Gao Qin examined Vincent from head to toe, then decided that was impossible.
There could not possibly be a tiger that stupid.
Jia Zhi Qing said painfully, “Their singing completely transcends national borders, transcends language, transcends race. It comes entirely from humanity’s innate love of and resonance with music.” There was no need whatsoever to read lyrics. Each man simply howled his own thing. The strangest part was that somehow, they still managed to merge into the same tune.
Gao Qin nodded in understanding. Then he turned and saw Feng Ya Lun’s slightly pale face. “Ya Lun and I still have something to discuss. We’ll leave first. Put today’s bill on me.”
Jia Zhi Qing leaned closer. “What are you going to discuss?” If he could not hear the restricted-rated version, surely he was allowed to investigate the gossip version.
Gao Qin said, “Whether the long-tongued woman or the talkative man came first in this world. Want to come listen?”
Fearless, Jia Zhi Qing asked, “Can I?”
“Of course.” Gao Qin narrowed his eyes. “I can invite Auntie Lian as the special guest.”
Jia Zhi Qing obediently shut his mouth.
Lian Jue Xiu complained, “Don’t use my mom as ammunition.”
Gao Qin said, “I’m not using her as ammunition. I’m using her as the imperial sword of authority.”
Eager to stir up more chaos, Lian Jue Xiu said, “Zhi Qing, don’t be afraid. I’ll be your immunity-from-death medallion.”
Jia Zhi Qing said, “Then when exactly is your immunity medallion transporting the imperial sword back to the palace?”
Xiao Bai quietly asked Yan Su Ang, “Doesn’t Director Lian live on Piggyback Mountain? Why did it turn into a palace?”
Yan Su Ang explained, “So many people went to Piggyback Mountain that the place turned yellow. Once it turned huang, it became a huang-gong—an imperial palace.”
“……”
Lian Jue Xiu stared at him with profound contempt.
Seeing Feng Ya Lun’s face growing worse and worse, Gao Qin quickly said, “We’ll leave first.”
Vincent hesitantly followed.
Gao Qin shot him a sideways glance and asked in English, “When are you going back to America?”
Vincent answered, “When I’ve had enough fun.”
Gao Qin deliberately interpreted that another way. “Mm. Then enjoy yourself thoroughly at karaoke today and go home tomorrow.”
Vincent’s eyes shifted. “There’s no flight to America tomorrow.”
“Then take one to Canada.” The corner of Gao Qin’s mouth curved upward as he slowly continued, “And when you’re over the United States, we’ll parachute you out.”
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