At that same dawn, with the sky only beginning to brighten and most of the city still asleep, another group of people in Yandu could no longer sit still.
By the time the unofficial news of Jian Mingxun’s arrest reached Liang Tong, Chairman Liang knew disaster was unavoidable and began preparing an escape route.
The final blow to Liang Tong’s defenses was Lu Yilun’s complete confession to the police. Bureau Chief Bao’s side promptly sent Chairman Liang a photograph intended to persuade him to surrender.
In the photograph, Lu Yilun sat inside the bureau chief’s office at Linwan Police Headquarters, covering his face and weeping before a photograph of Officer Lu Haocheng.
Liang Tong’s psychological defenses collapsed completely.
When Officer Lu had entered Splendid Imperial Court to investigate, he absolutely had not “wandered in by mistake.” He had not simply stumbled into a room and happened to witness something extreme. Someone must have contacted him privately, informed on the people inside, supplied evidence, and given him a lead that pointed him toward the case.
And given the complex internal layout and strict security inside Splendid Imperial Court, there was no way Lu Haocheng, dressed in plain clothes, could have slipped inside and then reached a VIP room that was never open to ordinary guests unless an insider had supplied him in advance with a route map and an access card for the elevators.
Lu Yilun had been one of the people present in that room that day.
That day they were in the room playing a sex game called “Five Beauties Offering Birthday Wishes.” It was the very term Gu Yaoting had once mentioned in front of Bei Jiahong, enough to drain the color from Bei’s face and leave him trembling all over.
Lu Yilun closed his eyes. Behind the black curtain of his eyelids, those ugly, shameful scenes still played out. He had never wanted any of it. From beginning to end, he had been forced. Having fallen into that bottomless pit while still young, he was like a listless canary trapped in a cage, with no hope left of spreading his wings and escaping.
“Five Beauties Offering Birthday Wishes,” of course, required five handsome, beautiful men to play the pampered darlings of the game.
Gu Yaoting was merely a spectator, one leg crossed over the other as he pointed at the beauties in the room. “Brother Lu’s mouth is the most skilled; he should take the lead role!”
That was the scene Lu Haocheng saw when he burst through the door.
That was why Officer Lu had to die.
Lu Yilun wept openly before Bureau Chief Bao. Three years of crushing psychological pressure and guilt finally poured out of him. “I’m the one who got Officer Lu killed…”
The incident caused a period of shock and chaos inside that den of demons. Everyone inside broke into a cold sweat. In their panic, they decided to strike brutally. Within three days of the incident, before Officer Lu could organize more evidence and report it up the chain, they simply abducted and murdered him.
Afterward, Gu Yaoting held a photograph of Lu Haocheng lying in a pool of blood after being shot twenty-two times and forced every person who had been present that day to identify the traitor: Who knew Officer Lu? Who had secretly contacted the police and informed on them?
Naturally, nobody admitted it. Whoever confessed would die even more horribly than Officer Lu.
Lu Yilun never dared step forward publicly to identify the killers until the eve of final judgment finally arrived.
Chairman Liang arranged for several trusted men to protect Young Master Liang and get him out of the country before dawn.
Liang Youhui had never been involved in the case. He had no police record and was completely clean, free to leave the country whenever he wished. But now that the crisis had arrived, Liang Tong’s only fear was that the people behind everything would not easily spare his entire family.
People said that when the tree fell, the monkeys scattered. But the tree in front of them had not even fallen yet, so how could the monkeys escape? Even if they wanted to scatter in every direction and disappear, the branches would still twist around them and refuse to let go.
The Liang villa was a mess of chairs, tables, cabinets, and cupboards, the atmosphere chaotic and hurried. Before parting, Liang Tong warned his precious son, “Listen to me. Go straight to the airport now. Your passport and ticket are ready. Leave immediately. Singapore first.”
Liang Youhui stared blankly at his father. “Dad, what about you?”
Liang Tong brushed him off. “I’ll follow afterward. Wait for me there.”
Moisture gathered in Liang Youhui’s eyes. “Dad, you really will come, right? I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do by myself…”
The anger beneath Chairman Liang’s dark expression suddenly erupted. “If you really have to live on your own someday, you won’t know what to do? You’ll go beg on the street? Fine, then go beg! Push a cart out and sell vegetables on the street. You’ll still stay alive!”
The storm of scolding beat Young Master Liang’s head down. This was how the gloomy, vicious-tempered Chairman Liang had frightened his son all through childhood and raised him into a timid, immature young man.
Liang Youhui said quietly, “I understand. I’ll figure something out myself. I…”
What he meant inside by “figure something out myself” was to find the person he trusted and ask him for help.
“What are you planning?” Liang Tong immediately became alert. “You are not allowed to go to Xue Qian! He’s a police officer. He wants your father’s life!”
Liang Youhui lowered his head and said nothing.
Dressed entirely in black, Liang Tong strode several turns through the living room, pointed at Liang Youhui, and shouted, “You little bastard, are you planning to turn yourself in on my behalf?… Why don’t you just go recognize Xue Qian as your father?!”
For all Chairman Liang’s furious abuse, when the moment came he still meant to protect Liang Youhui. This was, after all, his only son and heir, and Liang Tong still had part of his wealth and property hidden overseas.
He had been cold-hearted and ruthless when destroying other people’s sons. Now that it was his own son at risk, tied to him by flesh and blood, apparently he knew what pain felt like after all.
Chairman Liang had arranged everything in advance. He warned Liang Youhui specifically, “Turn off your phone. Do not switch it on while you’re on the road. Absolutely do not call me. You can make contact only after you’ve left the country. Understand?”
Several bodyguards stuffed Liang Youhui into a car and headed straight for Yandu Airport.
They had not gone far when Liang Youhui raised his big double-lidded eyes and glanced furtively at the two bodyguards beside him. He muttered, “I have to pee. I need a bathroom.”
The black-clad bodyguards had already prepared for dealing with this young master. One of them reached under the seat and produced a large urinal bottle.
Liang Youhui exploded the moment he saw it. “I-I-I can’t pee into a bottle!”
The bodyguard said, “We also prepared plastic waste bags.”
Liang Youhui said, “I’m about to piss my pants. Stop. The. Car!”
The car had no choice but to stop beside a twenty-four-hour convenience store so Young Master Liang could relieve himself. Liang Youhui had been thinking only about how much he did not want to leave. Naturally, he was not truly about to wet his pants. He hid inside a bathroom stall, turned on his phone, and called Captain Xue.
Liang Youhui said, “Ge, I’m leaving.”
What Young Master Liang was thinking was: We agreed you’d be with me, but now I’m being forced to leave.
Xue Qian immediately demanded over the phone, “Where are you going?”
Liang Youhui confessed, “My dad told me to fly to Singapore immediately. I’m on the way to the airport now. He told me not to contact you and not even to turn on my phone, but I still wanted to tell you.”
Experienced as he was, Xue Qian instantly became alert. “Your father told you not to make a call and you still dared turn your phone on and call me?!”
Liang Youhui muttered softly, “…He’s just trying to keep us apart.”
“Idiot!” Xue Qian snapped. “Your father is trying to keep you alive before somebody silences you! He is your biological father. He specializes in hurting other people, not you!”
At that moment Xue Qian was standing inside the police perimeter surrounding Pier Five in Linwan. Dawn covered the harbor overhead and damp mist clung around him. He had not slept all night. His eyes were bloodshot, the circles beneath them dark, and cigarette butts covered the ground outside the command vehicle.
Xue Qian had always spoken harshly, but his brain worked perfectly well. Chairman Liang’s frantic attempt to send his son abroad meant he knew the situation could no longer be contained and disaster was unavoidable. He was preparing to run before everything collapsed. Liang Tong had clearly sensed that someone might come after both father and son. And this little idiot Liang Youhui was nothing but a fat piece of meat on a chopping block waiting to be carved up.
“Youhui, where are you now?” Xue Qian asked.
“At a convenience store near the expressway entrance. I haven’t gotten onto the airport expressway yet,” Liang Youhui answered.
“If anyone wants to capture you, they can already locate and monitor you now that you’ve switched on the phone. Since it’s already happened, get back in the car immediately. Do not take the airport expressway. Take the entrance to the Yandu-Jinmen Expressway and come to me now!” Xue Qian judged the situation quickly. Liang Youhui happened to be near the Yandu-Jinmen boundary. In any case the distance was not too great, and there was still a chance to get him out.
“Once you get on the expressway, drive at full speed toward the provincial boundary. Don’t delay and don’t look back, understand? I’ll be waiting for you on this side of the border!” Xue Qian shouted.
Liang Youhui traveled like a bird startled from its nest, nearly frightened out of his soul as the vehicle tore toward the Yandu-Jinmen provincial line.
He had no idea whether anyone was genuinely pursuing him and no way to confirm it. Nor did he have the courage to slow down, stop, approach the suspicious-looking black cars behind him, exchange polite greetings, and ask who had sent them.
They might belong to the special task force, or they might belong to an even more ruthless power behind it. Either way, Young Master Liang raced onward without stopping or looking back. The car carved weaving lines along the expressway as the gate-like structure of the provincial toll station drew closer and closer.
Some things were almost funny in retrospect. Only days ago, Captain Xue had driven this same expressway for a hundred-li pursuit of wanted fugitive Guo Zhaobin.
Today Liang Youhui was driving the same expressway while fleeing whoever might be pursuing him from behind. The direction was exactly opposite, but the goal was the same: cross the provincial border and throw himself into the embrace of the “safe island” in his mind.
Ahead, the toll station’s large golden characters reflected the sunlight so fiercely that Liang Youhui’s eyes hurt and turned wet. Then he realized that it was not only the glare. He was so tense and overwhelmed that he was close to tears.
He could no longer rely even on his own father, yet somehow he still believed there was one person he could rely on.
Past the toll station, local traffic-police vehicles stood in a powerful row as though they had been waiting a long time.
Liang Youhui sat inside the car trembling with fear, half convinced that he would be dragged out and arrested in the next second. The uniformed officers took out a photograph and checked him carefully. Then, without speaking or wasting words, one of them waved him through.
Liang Youhui thus escaped across the provincial boundary by sheer luck. Looking back, he saw that two black cars behind him really had been stopped and intercepted.
Young Master Liang covered his face. Still shaken, he rubbed his face hard and then rubbed his eyes.
He called again. “Ge, I made it over. Where do I go to find you?”
Officer Xue answered crisply with only a few words. “Look up. Ahead.”
Liang Youhui jerked his head up, opened the window, and desperately searched in front of him, the sunlight burning his eyes.
A police SUV stood in an open field beside the road. A tall man with bronze skin stood in the wilderness. Strong backlighting hid his facial expression and outlined his entire body into a pure black silhouette against the dazzling sun.
At that moment, he looked like a god descending to earth.
……
Captain Xue had asked front-line commander Bureau Chief Bao for three hours off and slipped away from the arrest perimeter at Pier Five. He really was worried something might happen to Liang Youhui.
Liang Youhui jumped from the car, sniffling and teary-eyed, and rushed forward intending to deliver a passionate romantic embrace. Before both feet even left the ground to climb around Captain Xue’s hips, the other man hauled him back down. “No time for this. Get out of here.”
Captain Xue had no sense of romance at all. He pressed Liang Youhui by the head and stuffed him into the police vehicle exactly as though he were arresting a suspect.
Although the romantic embrace had failed, Liang Youhui was deeply moved. One sentence remained trapped in his heart, too frightening to say aloud because he feared being hit: Ge, I’m such a huge burden. Can I burden you for the rest of my life?
“Jinmen Airport.” Xue Qian ordered the accompanying officer to drive. Only then did he coolly mock Young Master Liang. “Trying to climb onto me? You fucking think we’re filming a movie?”
Liang Youhui suddenly realized what was happening. “Ge, you’re taking me to the airport?”
Xue Qian shot back, “Where else are you going? Your father’s plan was to send you away too.”
Liang Youhui said, “I came here because I wanted to find you. I don’t want to leave.”
Xue Qian replied, “I came to get you because I’m sending you away. I’m not letting you stay.”
Liang Youhui said nothing.
Xue Qian had originally been considering how to get Liang Youhui a ticket through internal channels. Instead, Young Master Liang made a single phone call. One of his father’s business partners, the head of an airline, directly arranged a first-class seat on the next flight.
Once the ticket was secured, Liang Youhui lowered his eyes and muttered, “That airline boss asked me just now whether a friend was traveling with me. There are two empty seats in first class.”
Xue Qian braced one hand against the wall and looked at him without answering, because that was impossible.
Liang Youhui said unhappily, “Ge, why is it that every time I see you, it feels like we’re about to separate in the very next second? We’re always stuck living apart like this.”
Raised like a sheltered sprout in a greenhouse, Liang Youhui had no idea how hard ordinary life could be and imagined everyone could support themselves as easily as a rich second-generation heir born into money. Xue Qian said coldly, “It may always be like this. My work keeps me busy. Every time we meet, we may have to separate the next second. Maybe we should simply stop seeing each other.”
Liang Youhui smiled sheepishly. “But I still want to see you.”
Xue Qian asked, “Can you live with that in the future?”
Liang Youhui rested his chin on Officer Xue’s shoulder, looking mournful. “I already can’t live with it now.”
The airport announcement was already calling passengers to board. Everyone else dragged their luggage into line. Only Xue Qian’s police credentials and familiar face allowed him to linger at the gate.
The melancholy of parting and the uncertainty of the road ahead slowly filled them. The interweaving figures around them blurred until only the person directly in front of each remained. Even Young Master Liang, usually so good at joking his way through anything, could no longer make a joke. He sniffled, sad and heartsore before an uncertain future, reluctant to leave both his father and Officer Xue. The people willing to care for and protect him would no longer be beside him. He would finally be forced to stand on his own.
“Can you manage by yourself? What are you going to do when you run out of money?” Xue Qian looked away and deliberately tried to sound casual.
“I can do it. Don’t worry! I at least have a degree from America, and my English is great. If I run out of money, I’ll find a job and support myself. I can even push a cart down the street and shout about vegetables for sale!” Young Master Liang swore earnestly, optimistic by nature.
He had failed math, physics, and chemistry in school. The one subject he really had excelled at was foreign language, because he was talkative and loved making friends with every variety of oddball. All of his cleverness seemed concentrated in that mouth.
Xue Qian pointed at Young Master Liang with a cold laugh. “Even if you run out of money, you are not allowed to go latch onto some rich man or rich woman.”
Liang Youhui saluted the officer and swore an oath. “Absolutely not!”
A fierce look entered Xue Qian’s eyes. “If I catch you, I’ll fuck you to death.”
Liang Youhui answered seriously, “Fine. I’ll wait for you to come catch me and fuck me to death.”
Xue Qian froze for a moment, then abruptly leaned in, kissed Liang Youhui, and pulled him tightly into his arms.
The airport was full of people, so they did not dare become excessively intimate. Xue Qian knew cameras in every direction had already recorded him, and after everything he had done on this case he no longer cared. The two kissed quickly and fiercely. Xue Qian kissed with such force that it resembled a wolf biting, leaving deep-red marks from his teeth on Liang Youhui’s ear and shoulder, though such traces could never hold onto good times forever.
Even under normal circumstances, let alone the current emergency, Xue Qian’s passport was held by his unit and his special status prevented casual travel abroad. Once he sent Young Master Liang away, if Liang never returned to the country, they might end up on opposite sides of the world and never see one another again. Captain Xue did not say that aloud. He did not want to stop Liang Youhui from stepping onto the plane.
Maybe we really shouldn’t meet again after this.
We crossed paths by chance. Take care of yourself.
“Get on the plane.” Xue Qian jerked his chin and stepped several long strides away, reluctant inside.
“Ge, take care of yourself. Be careful when you’re catching bad guys,” Liang Youhui reminded him.
“Relax. I’ve got your all-purpose ‘protective charm.’” Xue Qian casually patted the pouch at his waist.
“…And if you run into my dad, don’t beat him too hard. For my sake, ge, go easy on him.” Liang Youhui pleaded miserably.
“Your father isn’t in my jurisdiction. It won’t be my turn to beat him!” Xue Qian said disdainfully.
Liang Youhui dragged his designer rolling suitcase through the boarding line, turning back with every step to blow kisses at his Brother Xue.
At that moment Liang Youhui was thinking: Ge, I’ll wait for you.
At that moment Xue Qian was thinking: Once this case is finished, the Liang family may collapse as a great house, the mansion falling and all its former glory disappearing beyond recognition. You probably won’t come back… Go find yourself a rich woman, kid.
……
At that same dawn, while police surrounded the pier and remained locked in a standoff with the fugitive, Bureau Chief Bao cursed Yan Xiaodao all the way home.
Bao Zhengwei repeatedly told him to take good care of Ling He, so Yan Xiaodao brought Ling He home for the night.
The Yan household had stayed up astonishingly late. The entire villa was brightly lit and full of voices. The moment Yan Xiaodao stepped into the living room and saw the scene, he understood. With the national team playing such an important home match against South Korea that evening, how could any of these people possibly have slept peacefully?
“You two are back!” Mama Yan’s eyes and brows curved with excitement. “You watched it live? Exciting, wasn’t it? I was watching the broadcast on television and I was so excited!”
“That shot from Xiao Bei was from so far out. It was beautiful!…” Mama Yan grabbed her son as though she wanted to replay the entire match minute by minute.
“Yeah. Beautiful goal. Xiao Bei was great.” Yan Xiaodao kept both hands in his pockets and nodded to his adoptive mother.
That goal had been Bei Jiahong’s true last stand in a desperate corner. No outsider would ever understand how much courage it had taken to score.
Mama Yan wanted to continue recounting the match in detail, but Big Brother’s remarkably perceptive “number-one secretary,” Little Brother Yang, hugged and coaxed her away. Yang Xifeng wrapped an affectionate arm around Mama Yan and said, Auntie, I bought a team scarf and mascot at the stadium just for you. I even got an autograph from your favorite Bei Bear!
Mama Yan had now become a devoted Bei Jiahong fan. Who would not adore the hero who scored the goal, especially when he happened to be such a handsome, dashing young man?
Ling He lowered his lashes and walked quietly behind Xiaodao, barely speaking.
The two of them slipped into the bedroom in silent understanding. The instant the door closed and locked, Yan Xiaodao turned and hugged Ling He tightly, drawing the long-haired man into his arms to comfort him.
Ling He smiled and kissed his cheek in return, clearly appreciating the tenderness.
Together they formed the firm shape of the character “person,” leaning on one another and holding each other in silence for a long time.
The pure-black Steinway still stood quietly in the sitting room, giving off the soft gleam of passing years.
Play something? Ling He suggested with his eyes.
The two happily sat together on the piano bench in the same familiar positions. Yan Xiaodao opened the score only to discover that the notes looked strangely unfamiliar. He truly had not touched the piano in too long. His hands had gone rusty.
“Out of practice, Mr. Yan?” Ling He placed both elegant hands on the keys and teased him with a glance.
“No problem. I learn everything fast,” Yan Xiaodao said.
“Yes. You learn everything quickly. A few more rounds and you’ll be familiar again.” Ling He looked at him with deep affection.
Yan Xiaodao always felt Ling He was hiding another meaning inside his words. Ordinary phrases came out of that mouth sounding like flirtation.
Tenderness filled both of them as they played the Carmen Overture together beneath the moonlight three times in succession. Yan Xiaodao stumbled through the first run while trying to recover the feeling. By the second and third, he had become much more fluent and stopped missing notes. Two pairs of hands danced brightly and passionately over the keyboard as though teasing and touching each other’s hearts. Each man was helplessly fascinated by the other’s long, beautiful fingers, by the profile beside him, even by the scent of the other’s breath and the presence he radiated. It was a harmony neither could have achieved with anyone else.
When the music ended, neither seemed satisfied. Light flared in Ling He’s eyes as he indicated his thigh. “Xiaodao, sit here.”
Yan Xiaodao asked, “What are you doing?”
There was barely any room between the piano bench and the instrument. How was he supposed to sit? Ling He shifted back slightly and caught Yan Xiaodao by the wrist. “Sit here.”
Yan Xiaodao moved one leg into the cramped space with some difficulty and settled astride Ling He, wrapping his arms around him. Ling He raised his exquisitely beautiful face, breathed against him, and said, “Let’s make love.”
Mr. Ling never wasted time with drawn-out teasing or dirty talk before getting down to business. When the mood struck, he simply started undoing Xiaodao’s clothes. Men were like that: want it, do it. What was there to talk about? Ling He pulled Xiaodao tightly against him once more, settling him astride his own body, and tilted his face upward, catching Xiaodao’s upper lip with the tip of his tongue. Once they locked together, the kisses came soft and endless, like a fine continuous rain, warm and urgent, covering mouths and faces alike.
Without a word of warning, Ling He yanked open Xiaodao’s belt, unzipped his pants, and roughly stroked the half-hard length straining against the underwear.
“…Xiao He.” Yan Xiaodao whispered the name, not quite sure what he was feeling, only that he wanted to stop him.
This was too strange.
Only a few hours earlier they had been at Mingliu Stadium, jointly hunting Gu Yaoting—chasing, fighting, surrounding, searching the whole city. Xiaodao’s arm still bore a huge bruise… The criminal still hadn’t been brought in; at the docks the police were locked in tense negotiations. Bureau Chief Bao, Captain Xue, and the others had been battling through the night while both sides privately haggled and stalled… And above all, those threatening photos Gu Yaoting had released—shocking, painful images from the past. They were clearly of Ling He’s father.
Yan Xiaodao’s heart was shaking. He couldn’t understand why, under circumstances like these, Ling He wanted to do this with him.
Ling He’s eyes were a deep ocean scattered with faint, hard-to-catch points of light. With how well they knew each other’s bodies, it took almost no effort to stir that restless physical hunger, even though Xiaodao’s mind was still full of hesitation and helplessness. The moment he paused, Ling He lifted him onto the piano. Pain shot through his body as they suddenly closed the last bit of distance between them.
A few random, discordant notes rang out beneath them.
“Xiao He, wait.” Yan Xiaodao said quietly.
“No more waiting. Tonight.” Ling He sealed his tongue with his own.
“Don’t… not like this.” Yan Xiaodao almost never tried to pull away from this. He had never refused Ling He before.
“One more time. I want you.” Ling He’s gaze was full of feeling, but once he had decided on something he allowed no opposition—even in bed he was absolute.
Yan Xiaodao was forced to brace himself with his hands. His fingers accidentally slammed across the keys, sending chaotic notes mixing with his heavy breathing into a wildly off-key love song played in the middle of chaos. Ling He’s thin white shirt drifted in the moonlight, beautiful beyond belief, the muscles of his shoulders trembling from the force he was using…
Sweat slid down from Yan Xiaodao’s brow bone and temples. He clenched his teeth and took every nearly blunt, almost brutal thrust, each one stronger than the last. Pleasure tangled with pain; inside the pain was a deep, bone-deep intimacy.
If this could make Ling He feel even a little better…
If this could ease any of the suffering and torment heaped on him…
Then fine. Come on.
It was a sudden, unexpected pleasure. The whole time Yan Xiaodao felt suspended in mid-air, the piano notes plucking at the chaos inside him, body and mind both swaying on the edge of collapse. He had never imagined Ling He’s mind could be this strong—calm and cold to the point of being almost inhuman.
If he weren’t so detached and cold, then as both one who had lived through it and an observer, simply remembering those three days and three nights of misery and terror over the years would have driven him mad long ago…
Ling He’s face was devastatingly beautiful. Sweat darkened the roots of his hair and slowly soaked through to the tips, dripping onto Yan Xiaodao’s face and chest.
That wet hair hit Xiaodao’s raw nerves again, forcing him to remember the wet hair in the photographs, and the memory hurt. He forced his eyes open and looked hard at the man in front of him, checking every intimate, private detail of that body to confirm that the person in his arms really was his lover. Ling He’s presence was vivid and poisonous, powerful and sharp—these were two completely different people…
Ling He still hadn’t gone crazy. Yan Xiaodao was the one about to lose his mind.
He hadn’t been as calm or strong as he once believed. He simply hadn’t known Mr. Ling yet.
Sometimes the pain made his eyes sting; at the same time he noticed the corners of Ling He’s eyes were wet too. Ling He held him so tightly his nails kept digging in, clearly also enduring physical and mental pain.
Yan Xiaodao pulled the other’s head close and kissed the damp eyelids and the bridge of Ling He’s nose. “Xiao He, don’t be afraid. I’m right here with you.”
……