The rain was heavier than expected, and it lasted longer too.
Purple lightning slashed across the sky, unleashing a deafening roar.
Secretary Lin came to take Lan Xi to breakfast and said with a smile, “This is like someone undergoing a heavenly tribulation. Didn’t it scare you?”
Lan Xi shook his head, his attention fixed on the lightning flashing beyond the window and the raging wind outside.
Is Hell counterattacking?
Whenever Hell and Heaven went to war, it usually looked like this.
Secretary Lin led Lan Xi into the restaurant, and the previously distracted Lan Xi immediately perked up.
It was the buffet he liked! That was what it was called, right?
Because Wen Yue had dragged him away halfway through last time, Lan Xi hadn’t gotten nearly enough out of the experience. He immediately headed over, ready to carry off the food, pots and all.
Secretary Lin had already been briefed, so she wasn’t surprised at all. She calmly persuaded him, “Look, there are still so many people here. If you take everything all at once, they’ll starve.”
Lan Xi pouted before finally letting go. “Fine.”
Demons were born to do bad things.
But that would affect his image in the angels’ eyes.
Lan Xi obediently sat by the window and waited for Secretary Lin and the bodyguards to bring him food.
As luck would have it, everything they brought was something he liked.
Lan Xi popped an entire pan-fried bun into his mouth in one bite. Only then did Secretary Lin’s expression change slightly. “Be careful, it’s hot!”
Lan Xi curled his tongue, and whether it was hot or cold, down it went into his stomach. Only a faint sheen of oil remained on his lips.
Secretary Lin was momentarily distracted. So pretty. Just like the ball-jointed doll my niece has.
Lan Xi was just about to swallow a soup-filled bun whole when his phone rang.
After one night, Wen Ming was like a ruin that had been scorched by a raging fire and finally cooled down. Once he had cooled, he looked at the terrible weather outside and belated panic began to rise.
He also felt that he had made the wrong decision.
How the hell had I forgotten to check the weather forecast before flying to Hai City?!
He hesitated for a long time before finally calling Wen Yue. “The weather here in Hai City is especially bad…”
Wen Yue understood immediately.
“Mm. I’ll call Lan Xi and ask how he’s doing.”
After some deliberation, Wen Yue chose to call at nine-thirty in the morning.
The feeling was unbelievably awkward… Before, when he had thought the person was Wen Lan, there had been a layer called “brothers” wrapped around their relationship, so naturally he could discipline him however he wanted.
Now, even making a phone call required careful consideration. If he woke Lan Xi from his sleep, Lan Xi could simply hang up on him.
Fortunately, the call connected.
Wen Yue moved his lips, feeling the faint numbness left behind by having tensed them too hard. “Are you still at the hotel?”
Lan Xi, who had been holding the soup-filled bun between his chopsticks, had no choice but to change his planned big bite into a small one. He gently broke the skin and answered at the same time, “Mm.”
“Which hotel? Is it safe?”
“…”
Wen Yue waited for quite a while without receiving an answer. All he could hear was the constant sound of chewing.
His head hurt, but this time there truly was nothing he could do.
They weren’t relatives or anything else now. He couldn’t demand that the other person answer his questions.
Wen Yue could only continue on his own. “It’s too dangerous in typhoon weather. If you’re not too far away, how about I have Wen Ming come pick you up?”
“…”
Helpless, Wen Yue changed tactics. “You’re out there by yourself, and you don’t even know whether that hotel is any good. What if they run out of water, electricity, or food?”
Now that was something Lan Xi cared about.
Lan Xi immediately looked up at Secretary Lin. “Will we run out of food?”
“Of course not. Don’t worry. The hotel has plenty in reserve.”
Only then did Lan Xi toss two words back at Wen Yue. “We won’t.”
Wen Yue gripped the armrest of his chair, wondering who Lan Xi had just been asking.
Before he could arrive at an answer, Lan Xi’s phone rang again. Once again, a call from Fu Hui cut in midway.
Lan Xi once again chose to abandon Wen Yue and answered the new call.
Fu Hui’s first question was, “How does breakfast taste?”
Lan Xi was more than happy to talk about this. “Good.”
Across from him, Secretary Lin put away her phone, deleted the status report she had just sent, and quietly hid her contribution without taking any credit.
“Try the wonton noodles. That hotel makes them well,” Fu Hui continued.
Lan Xi’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
“Mm.”
Lan Xi immediately turned to Secretary Lin. “I want wonton noodles.”
Secretary Lin smiled and stood.
Lan Xi asked Fu Hui, “What else?”
But Fu Hui said, “Nothing else is worth mentioning.”
Not worth mentioning? Lan Xi licked his lips.
Then he heard Fu Hui say, “Pick up a pan-fried bun.”
Hm? Lan Xi picked one up in confusion.
“Take a bite.”
Lan Xi obediently bit into it.
“Is there a lot of juice inside?”
“Mm.”
“They used too much pork-skin aspic in the filling, so once it’s fried, the bottom quickly gets soaked and goes soft. It’s too sweet and not savory enough.”
Lan Xi slowly bit off a little more and chewed a couple of times. He realized it really was just as Fu Hui had said.
Fu Hui said, “The chefs in Jing City lean more toward the Qingshui style of pan-fried buns. The meat flavor is stronger, and the bottoms are crisper and don’t go soggy. Try them next time.”
Elio’s Notes: Qingshui, literally “clear water,” refers here to a less-soupy style of pan-fried bun with less aspic in the filling, emphasizing the meat flavor and keeping the fried base crisp.
Even food in Heaven had different schools? Lan Xi started scratching his ears and cheeks, his appetite thoroughly whetted.
What ‘next time’?
He wanted to fly straight over there now.
Lan Xi turned and stared at the restaurant’s floor-to-ceiling window so intensely that his eyes practically burned two holes through the glass.
He was considering the possibility of jumping out from here and flying back to Jing City.
But Fu Hui had already moved on to discussing the hotel’s sampan congee.
It was the same routine: first he had Lan Xi take a bite, then told him what was lacking and what would taste better.
Lan Xi listened with great interest and couldn’t bear to hang up at all.
The bodyguard simply watched as Fu Hui leisurely tied his necktie while chatting about such trivial things with the person on the other end of the phone.
Fu Hui had seen far too many tactics in his life, both good and bad.
When he wanted to treat someone well, it was extremely easy. The only question was whether he wanted to.
By the time they had more or less finished talking about breakfast, Fu Hui still showed no intention of hanging up. Instead, he asked Lan Xi what he planned to do for fun today.
Lan Xi had grown accustomed to the Wen brothers constantly restricting him, so his first reaction was that Fu Hui must have things he wouldn’t allow him to do.
Lan Xi said, “Haven’t decided.”
“That hotel has an indoor amusement park. There’s also a water park.”
A bodyguard opened the car door for Fu Hui. Fu Hui got inside and continued talking to Lan Xi about the amusement park throughout the drive.
Fu Hui himself had never played with any of those things, but he knew them well.
He could even describe exactly what it felt like to experience each attraction, making them sound enticing enough to attract anyone.
Now, they were enticing enough to attract a demon.
Lan Xi ended up spending most of the day in the indoor amusement park.
It was as though he and the raging storm outside existed in two completely different worlds.
After that, Wen Yue simply couldn’t get through to him again.
Eventually, even Wen Ming couldn’t resist calling his older brother. “So… what did he say?”
Wen Yue sighed. “I asked him whether he wanted you to go pick him up.”
Wen Ming’s voice stiffened. “What did he say?”
“He didn’t say yes or no. He only said he wasn’t lacking anything. Then he hung up on me.”
Wen Ming had barely slept all night. Wearing a haggard frown, he could only try contacting Lan Xi himself.
But Lan Xi had barely stepped out of the water park before Secretary Lin took him to shower and change clothes.
Once he came out from his shower, Fu Hui called him again.
Although Lan Xi had spent practically the entire day answering calls from Fu Hui, he wasn’t annoyed in the slightest.
“You’ve been playing for so long. You must be tired.” Fu Hui’s low voice came through the phone.
It seemed to tickle directly against the eardrum.
Lan Xi wanted to say, “I’m not…” tired.
But Fu Hui immediately continued, “Go get a spa treatment.”
Lan Xi thought, What was this ‘spa’ thing? Why did it sound like ‘go die’? The curious demon followed Secretary Lin to the hotel’s fourth floor.
Once he was comfortably stretched out on a massage bed, breathing in the faint scent of aromatherapy while someone beside him even fed him fruit, Lan Xi nearly forgot all about his grand undertaking of attacking Heaven.
The massage therapist turned him over again and began massaging his head.
It was all numb and tingly, as though his very soul were being kneaded into a little ball and carried away…
And so Wen Ming’s call still didn’t get through.
Night came again.
Neither of the Wen brothers managed to sleep properly.
The heavy rain in Hai City lasted for three straight days, and they suffered from insomnia for three straight days.
On Saturday, as soon as the rain stopped, Secretary Lin took Lan Xi to the airport.
Lan Xi liked her very much.
Succubi weren’t particular about men or women, and they didn’t even care about age. Unfortunately, Secretary Lin only had a red aura around her, just a little lower than gold.
Lan Xi could only give up on her regretfully.
Secretary Lin did, however, add him on WeChat.
When she saw the entire row of contacts in his list named “Something Seller,” she couldn’t help laughing. “You really love trying different foods, don’t you? Next time the weather is good and you come back to Hai City, I’ll take you to some little local places and let you try the regional specialties.”
Lan Xi nodded and committed that to memory.
At the same time, Wen Ming was standing inside a police station. Somewhat conflicted, he handed over Wen Lan’s identification card. “I want to find someone…”
Wen Ming successfully obtained the surveillance footage from the day Lan Xi had left.
The moment he saw a car pick Lan Xi up, he pointed at it. “Whose car is that?”
The person across from him gave him a surprised look but shook their head. “Sorry. That’s classified.”
Wen Ming immediately thought of Fu Hui.
But could Fu Hui really have moved that quickly?
Why exactly was Fu Hui so unwilling to let go? Wen Ming finally had enough mental space to think about that question. But it seemed the answer no longer had much to do with him.
Wen Ming stood stiffly at the entrance for another moment, feeling so lost that he genuinely didn’t know which way to go.
Just then, Assistant Yu called. “I’ve already arrived in Yun Province, Boss. When are you coming?”
Wen Ming drew a deep breath and reluctantly started moving. Right. Right. He had to find Wen Lan.
But before leaving, he hesitated and still sent the license-plate information for that car to Wen Yue.
＊
As soon as Lan Xi’s plane landed, he was taken directly to the Fu family’s villa.
The bodyguards already had sweet soup waiting for him.
Lan Xi walked inside and looked left and right. “Where’s Fu Hui?”
“Sir is in the study upstairs.”
Lan Xi wasn’t shy in unfamiliar places at all. He swaggered upstairs on his own, not forgetting to carry along the bowl of sweet soup that belonged to him.
He didn’t know which door led to the study and which ones led to the bedrooms.
So he knocked on them one by one.
Bang, bang. “Fu Hui!” Bang, bang. “Fu Hui, are you there?” Bang, bang. “Fu Hui…”
Fu Hui: “…” He could only get up, walk over, and pull open the door. “Here.”
Lan Xi stopped and stared carefully at Fu Hui for another couple of seconds.
Only after confirming that this person really did seem to want to take him in and bring him home did Lan Xi start moving toward him again.
“Was Hai City fun?” Fu Hui asked.
He sounded no different from how he had over the phone, and that gave Lan Xi a little sense of familiarity again. He abruptly relaxed, even his features turning lazy.
The last time he had come back from the mountains and seen Fu Hui again, Fu Hui’s sudden change in attitude had left far too deep an impression on him.
“Mm. It was fun.” Lan Xi also took the opportunity to lavish praise on Secretary Lin.
Secretary Lin was an older woman, so Fu Hui didn’t think for a moment that Lan Xi’s praise came from some other kind of interest.
Fu Hui answered, “Mm. I’ll tell her superior that she did an excellent job.”
After saying that, Fu Hui noticed Lan Xi was still carrying the bowl of sweet soup. He reached out, intending to take it from him and put it on the desk.
He tugged once. It didn’t budge.
Fu Hui: “…”
“Don’t you find it inconvenient to keep holding that?” Fu Hui asked.
Lan Xi hesitated. It was inconvenient.
After all, he might be about to sleep with the seraph very soon…
Lan Xi simply tipped his head back and glug, glug drained the entire bowl in one go. Then he handed the empty bowl to Fu Hui. “Done.”
“…”
Fu Hui set the bowl down on a low cabinet beside them.
Lan Xi thought the timing was about right and was just about to ask, “Want to go to bed?” But when he glanced outside, it was still early. That would be far too deliberate. Sigh. Damn conservative seraph.
The words took an abrupt turn just before they left his mouth. “I want to learn English.”
Fu Hui called Lan Xi over to the desk. The textbooks had already been placed there.
He picked up the receiver for the intercom. “Bring up another chair.”
Lan Xi said, “No need.”
Then he plopped straight down on Fu Hui’s lap.
Every muscle in Fu Hui’s body stiffened for a moment, but he didn’t push Lan Xi away.
Lan Xi noticed that tiny change too. To thoroughly confirm Fu Hui’s attitude, Lan Xi deliberately gave his hips a firm wriggle on his lap.
Fu Hui: “…”
Fu Hui still hadn’t hung up the intercom. He said into it, “Never mind.”
He lowered his eyes, calmly opened the book, then picked up a fountain pen and held it between his fingers, lightly tapping the words on the page.
But for a moment, he didn’t speak.
Lan Xi gradually felt scorching breath spilling across the back of his neck. The space between his thighs was burning hot too.
It was like when Fu Hui taught me how to write in the little Western-style house, but it was also a little different… Lan Xi thought.
It was different.
Back in the little Western-style house, Fu Hui had barely even looked closely at the “mute girl’s” face. The closer they were, the more politely he had averted his gaze.
But now…
Those restraints had instead fallen away completely.
His gaze could roam freely over Lan Xi’s neck.
So Lan Xi was really this fair. Faint blue veins and the palest hint of pink showed through beneath his skin.
His neck truly was very slender.
As though one hand could encircle it completely.
But with Lan Xi sitting in his lap with his back to him like this, there was still far too little for Fu Hui to see.
Fu Hui lifted his eyelids slightly and finally raised a hand to settle it around Lan Xi’s waist.
…How was this any different from a woman’s?
Fu Hui genuinely didn’t know. After all, he had never had that kind of contact with one.
All he could clearly feel was that the waist beneath his hand was narrow and slender, somewhat soft, yet beneath that softness was even more resilient firmness.
A tiny flame seemed to ignite in his palm.
It made him want to use more force, as though only then could he suppress that burning sensation.
Fu Hui decided to follow his impulses.
He abruptly let go of the fountain pen.
Lan Xi: “Hm?”
The next moment, his waist tightened. Fu Hui’s large hand clamped around it, lifting him bodily and forcibly turning him around.
Lan Xi was now facing him, once again seated on Fu Hui’s lap.
Lan Xi vaguely realized what was happening, and the demon in him became thoroughly excited. The fountain pen rolled along the smooth desktop and dropped onto the carpet with the faintest sound, but neither of them paid it any attention.
Yet Fu Hui wasn’t as impatient as the demons Lan Xi had seen before.
He supported Lan Xi’s chin and, with a gaze unlike any he had ever used before, openly and thoroughly studied Lan Xi’s face.
As expected of a seraph. Lan Xi quietly let out a breath. His eyes look like they want to eat me alive…
“Your eyes…” Fu Hui suddenly said. “They’re purple.”
Lan Xi brightened. “That’s right.” He emphasized, “They’re not colored contacts.”
Fu Hui gripped his chin, bent his head, and tentatively pressed a kiss to Lan Xi’s eyelashes, which were trembling uncontrollably with excitement.
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