Lu Nanyang instinctively stepped back, his heel bumping into a chair leg with a harsh screech. But that didn’t stop Xie Quan’s approach—in the blink of an eye, Lu Nanyang was trapped between the wall and Xie Quan’s chest.
The weather was already hot, and the humid air clung thickly between them. Xie Quan’s nose was barely an inch from his; Lu Nanyang had to tilt his head back to avoid it.
But in doing so, he exposed everything from his throat to his collarbone—his most vulnerable area—to the enemy.
Xie Quan chuckled softly, and his breath brushed across Lu Nanyang’s neck, raising goosebumps all over his skin.
“How about this?” Xie Quan leaned in, his deep, magnetic voice buzzing through Lu Nanyang’s ear canal like an electric current. “You get on your knees and give me head.”
A jolt ran through Lu Nanyang’s scalp. He shoved Xie Quan away forcefully. “Are you fucking out of your mind?!”
Xie Quan staggered slightly, his calf hitting the table leg. The small dining table let out a pitiful creak, and some of the fish soup sloshed over the edge.
But he didn’t seem surprised at all, as if he’d expected it. He simply lifted a hand to smooth out the wrinkles in his shirt.
“It’s just a deal. Mutual consent. No need to get so worked up,” Xie Quan said. “If you’re not willing, forget it. Offer expires soon anyway.”
Lu Nanyang glared at him for a moment, then grabbed his jacket off the chair.
Xie Quan leaned back with a smile, watching Lu Nanyang storm out and slam the door forcefully behind him.
…..
The next morning, the call to Lu Nanyang came from Meng Hezhi instead.
“Nanyang, I heard from Miss Li that you hit one of Miss Liu’s people. What happened?”
“Mr. Meng, this is a misunderstanding.” Lu Nanyang sat up in bed, his head throbbing like it had doubled in size. “Let me explain… No, it was like this…”
Wen Fei came out of the bathroom yawning, toothbrush in mouth, and saw Lu Nanyang pacing circles on the balcony with his phone. His bangs had clearly been raked through too many times, now a tangled mess like a chicken nest.
“…Yes, I understand. No need, I’ll handle it myself. Alright, thank you, Mr. Meng.”
After hanging up, Lu Nanyang was silent for two seconds, then threw his phone onto the bed and rubbed his nose bridge hard.
Wen Fei was startled. “What happened?”
“That damn Li Xin told Meng Hezhi about the fight.”
Wen Fei was shocked. “You hit someone? Or you got hit?”
“If I could explain that clearly, I wouldn’t be stressing like this,” Lu Nanyang said gloomily.
Wen Fei opened his mouth but couldn’t find words. From the top bunk across, Da Ze stuck his head out and chimed in, “That Meng guy’s pushing you around like this, and you’re still putting up with it? If it were me, I’d have beaten him already.”
“How? Break into his house and assassinate him?” Lu Nanyang replied irritably.
“Call your parents!” Da Ze jumped down, nearly hitting his head on the ceiling. “If I had a background like the Lu family, no way I’d let some small-time teacher bully me.”
“Not calling,” Lu Nanyang said, shoving the comforter aside and sitting on the bed. “The Lu family isn’t really my family. There’s nothing worth calling about. And it’s not like Mr. Meng can really do anything to me. Worst case, I lose a few credits. I can afford that.”
“You…” Da Ze looked at him like he was hopeless. “You’re gonna stubborn yourself into an early grave.”
Lu Nanyang ignored him. He pulled out his phone from under the blanket, opened WeChat, and scrolled through his contacts, stopping on someone named “Drowning.”
He tapped the name and typed into the message box:
—It’s Lu Nanyang. You might’ve forgotten, but we actually exchanged WeChat that night…
He frowned and deleted the message, then wrote:
—It’s Lu Nanyang. About what you said yesterday…
Delete.
—You said yesterday…
After that, Lu Nanyang gave up entirely, erased the text, and closed WeChat.
Wen Fei walked past just then, brushing his teeth, and leaned over to peek.
Lu Nanyang looked up and nearly jumped out of his skin. “Shit! Can you not sneak up on people like that?”
“Lu-ge, why do you look so tragic?” Wen Fei asked. “Like you’re about to sacrifice yourself for some noble cause?”
“…” Lu Nanyang pressed the screen off and gave a fake smile. “You just have to talk, don’t you?”
…..
There weren’t many customers in the bar on a weekday, especially since night hadn’t yet fallen. Only a few young men and women sat scattered around, chatting at their tables.
Tony had switched the background music to something soft and mellow, and adjusted the lights to give the place a gentle, romantic vibe. He hummed a little tune to himself, but was interrupted by the door chime when Xie Quan walked in.
“Yo, haven’t seen you in a while.” Tony waved him over. “What’ll you have?”
“Scorpio, please,” Xie Quan said, settling down at the bar.
“Knew it. You always order that one.” Tony grabbed a glass and began mixing. “Let me guess, you’re a Scorpio, right? I hear Scorpio guys are really popular with the girls these days.”
Xie Quan smiled but didn’t follow up on that line of conversation. Instead, he said, “You know that line from Du Fu? ‘In life, we do not meet; we move like Shen and Shang.’”
Tony even tried to remember it seriously, but his Chinese literature knowledge had long been returned to his teacher. He just vaguely replied, “Uh, I think I’ve heard of it?”
“In ancient Chinese astronomy, the three stars forming the body of Scorpio are called Shang stars, and the three on Orion’s belt are called Shen stars. Scorpio rises in summer and sets in winter; Orion rises in winter and sets in summer. So the two can never appear in the sky at the same time—they never meet.”
“Damn, I learned something today.” Tony gave him a thumbs-up and slid the finished drink over. “This one’s on me.”
“No need. Just a little hobby of mine,” Xie Quan replied with a smile, glancing at the painting hanging behind Tony. “The customers still like it?”
“You mean that one?” Tony turned to admire the artwork with satisfaction. “They love it! Girls come in and say the place has real ambiance now. I seriously owe you big time. No matter what, I’m paying for your drink today…”
Just as he was talking, the door opened again.
Lu Nanyang walked in and sat down right beside Xie Quan.
Xie Quan glanced at him from the corner of his eye. Lu Nanyang was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday, only now they were more wrinkled and his hair was messier. The fatigue on him was obvious.
“Yo, Xiao Lu, haven’t seen you in a while either.” Tony grabbed a clean glass. “Want the usual—Orion?”
“Whatever,” Lu Nanyang replied distractedly.
As he mixed, Tony chatted, “Funny thing—this handsome guy next to you ordered Scorpio. He just told me that Scorpio and Orion never show up in the same sky. That Du Fu line again, you know? ‘In life, we do not meet; we move like Shen and Shang.’ But look, fate is strange, huh? You two are sitting right here drinking together.”
Tony thought he’d made a clever little joke, but to his surprise, the atmosphere got even stiffer.
Lu Nanyang forced a smile from his practically frozen face. “Haha… hilarious.”
Xie Quan’s lips curved ever so slightly, and to hide it, he turned his head to sip his drink.
Tony coughed awkwardly. Luckily, a customer at the other end of the bar called him over. “Well, enjoy your drinks—welcome! What can I get you?”
Now, in the soft shadowy corner of the bar, only Lu Nanyang and Xie Quan were left.
Xie Quan swirled his glass, waiting patiently for Lu Nanyang to speak first.
Three… two…
Sure enough, before he even got to one, Lu Nanyang spoke.
“About what you said last night… I think it’s not impossible to talk it over again.” He lowered his voice, glancing nervously around to make sure no one was watching them.
“I said a lot of things last night. Which one are you referring to?” Xie Quan asked, smiling.
“…!” Lu Nanyang glared at him through clenched teeth, the tips of his ears turning red. “The part where you said I should…”
But he just couldn’t bring himself to say the rest.
Xie Quan, seemingly understanding his embarrassment, looked amused and finished the sentence for him. “You mean the part where I said, ‘Get on your knees and give me head’?”
“Keep your voice down!” Lu Nanyang reached out to cover Xie Quan’s mouth, anxiously checking the room to see if anyone overheard.
Xie Quan pulled away his slightly clammy hand. “What, changed your mind?”
“Let’s make a deal,” Lu Nanyang muttered under his breath. “A handjob instead of a blowjob. Nobody kneels. You still get your fun. Saying a few words to the police isn’t hard—no need to ask for the moon and piss everyone off.”
Lu Nanyang had sharp, striking brows that gave his face a chiseled, handsome intensity. When he looked at someone, it was with the force of a young predator.
The more defiant he was, the more Xie Quan wanted to conquer him.
“No deal,” Xie Quan said softly, meeting the beast’s gaze with a smile. “But if you want to switch it up, there’s another way. Like this.”
He pointed to the ground in front of them and said gently, “Lie down right here, roll over three times, spin in a circle, and bark like a dog. Then I’ll help you.”
Lu Nanyang shot to his feet. In that moment, credits and favors meant nothing—the only thought pounding in his brain was that he had to kill this bastard, right now.
Just as the tension reached a breaking point and everyone in the bar turned to watch the commotion, Lu Nanyang’s phone rang.
Xie Quan calmly sipped his drink, the sweet heat of the alcohol tingling up his spine. “Want to get that?”
Lu Nanyang hesitated for half a second, then walked off to the side to answer it.
“Hello? Yes, this is he… Oh? Someone testified on my behalf? Who…? The guy who called the police? When? This morning? …Thank you for letting me know.”
When he hung up, Lu Nanyang turned around in a daze—only to find that Xie Quan was no longer at the bar. All that remained was an empty cocktail glass, standing alone on the table.
Tony was standing behind the bar, looking at him in confusion. “What’s going on between you two?”
“Nothing,” Lu Nanyang clicked his tongue and took out his phone to pay for the drinks, but Tony stopped him.
“He already paid before he left.”
