Legal Violation
Translator: She.Wee
Chapter 20: Body Lodging
It felt as if something had melted.
Like an entire glass of water turning sweet and warm. That sugar sank to the bottom of the glass, slowly dissolving, turning the mundane into sweetness.
Feng Tang’s mind floated but then calmed down again. He touched his ear, trying to change the subject.
“What do ‘sincerity’ and ‘playfulness’ feel like?” He was already finding it hard to hold onto Feng Lulin. He felt like things were spiraling out of control, yet it was something he looked forward to… Feng Tang was trapped in a vicious cycle, wanting to try but also desperately wanting to avoid it. Didn’t someone once say that to avoid an ending, you must avoid all beginnings?
Feng Tang… why are you being so hesitant? With one decisive move, shouldn’t you act boldly after all these days of being haunted by it?
Suddenly, the restaurant switched from Bossa Nova to playing some Hong Kong and Taiwanese love songs.
Feng Tang abruptly spoke, saying that the singers being played now sang so many songs that it seemed like they had loved many people. But if you look at their spouses, you’d see they had chosen one person for life.
Feng Lulin nodded in agreement, pulling one side of his jacket open to let some air in, and said, “You think a lot. They just sing, the ones who write the lyrics are the ones with stories.”
Feng Tang stayed silent, recalling a line from a song: “The listeners are hypocritical, the songwriters are the most heartless.”
Looking at Feng Tang’s profile, Feng Lulin suddenly wanted to ask how many men had been by his side. He knew Feng Tang was a top but also wanted to know what those “bottoms” were like.
So he asked him.
Feng Tang was silent for a while and said, “I’ve not shared a bed with many. If you want to know, I’ll tell you about the most memorable one.”
Feng Lulin said, “Okay.”
Feng Tang said, “But you can’t be jealous.” Feng Lulin thought for a moment, feeling it was impossible, shook his head, and still said, “But I like hearing about your stories.”
Feng Tang put a cigarette in his mouth, not lighting it, and slowly said, “Once, during a social event, someone called a gigolo for me. Calling him a gigolo isn’t respectful, he should be called a ‘player.’ That night at the hotel, before I took off my pants, we chatted. He seemed to be in a bad mood and told me he went to the small shop downstairs to buy paper, asking the boss for the best kind, saying it was for wiping his mouth.”
He was about to reach for his lighter when Feng Lulin lit it for him.
Feng Tang smiled and continued, “The boss gave him the cheapest kind, and when he felt the paper was too rough, he questioned the boss. The boss said, ‘What’s the difference between wiping your mouth and wiping your ass?’ He was particularly upset. After he told me this, I said I wouldn’t do it with him.”
Feng Lulin suddenly asked, “Why not?”
“He sold his body for money, and I wanted to enter his body for desire…” Feng Tang took a deep drag of the cigarette, smoke curling around his nose, “Isn’t it the same?”
Feng Lulin said, “How can you be the same as him?”
Feng Tang shook his head stubbornly, “Don’t beat around the bush with me. Essentially, it’s the same.”
“Actually, my family is quite special too.”
Feng Lulin took a deep breath and said, “My father was quite successful locally back then, so he had very high expectations of me. It was quite tiring.”
He stopped, not daring to say more, just hoping Feng Tang would find some resonance. Feng Tang, immersed in his memories, simply asked if his father was a private entrepreneur or if their place was small, like a county, so living in the city made them more successful?
Feng Lulin shook his head, not speaking.
Feng Tang thought he didn’t want to talk anymore, flicked the ash from his cigarette, and said, “Home is where I can relax and rest. If I go home and feel tense and tired, then it can’t be called home… I was raised on a pedestal, almost like a little tyrant. My parents were very good to me and gave me the best. But seeing so many rich and powerful people around, I got tired of it. Many of my peers joined companies or took over family businesses, some went abroad for further studies, and some didn’t want to return under their parents’ control.”
He pondered for a while, then turned his face to the window, took another drag, and exhaled the smoke.
“People with money and power tend to have a strong desire for control.”
As he finished speaking, Feng Lulin instinctively glanced at his own palm, shivering slightly.
How was he going to tell Feng Tang…
His own desire for control and possession was almost extreme.
This was a “trait” evident since childhood.
The toys he played with couldn’t be touched by other children, he wouldn’t be forced to do things he didn’t like, and what he wanted to hold onto, he would never let go. Always striving to be first, never willing to fall behind.
For his beloved, he wanted to hide them away, imprison them in the deepest place, not letting anyone see… absolutely not letting anyone touch.
Right now, he wanted to tie Feng Tang up.
Feng Lulin suppressed the urge to reach out and hug him and slowly asked, “Do you reject the desire for control?”
“A certain ‘desire’ is not an illness; it’s called personality,” Feng Tang said. “The scariest thing is having no personality.”
He smiled, adding, “But it depends on where that ‘desire for control’ is used.”
Feng Lulin’s hand shook, his voice hoarse, “The right place.”
Feng Tang said no more, tapping his fingers on the table as if keeping some rhythm. One, two, three…
Feng Tang was overly avant-garde in some matters, and He Qing called this “punk behavior.”
For instance, taking photos of his own body parts was already quite inappropriate for children, but Feng Tang just said He Qing was making a fuss. He Qing said it wasn’t just that, recalling their car races where Feng Tang played some jingly songs.
Feng Tang said that was post-rock, and He Qing didn’t understand a thing.
Later, when Feng Tang played those songs again, He Qing, cherishing his life, didn’t resist in the passenger seat, instead following the music waves in the back seat.
On weekends, Feng Tang would huddle in the basement projection room at home, watching movies. He liked marginalized things, so watching them in the basement added to the “underground” atmosphere.
He used to not understand why censorship required “campus romances to have no good endings,” but now he did, because people rarely possess the purest things. But he didn’t like tragedies or overly pessimistic content. Directors shouldn’t be killers; they shouldn’t strike too hard. Life always needs some hope.
He often watched those well-made movies in the projection room, finding the dialogues interesting. The camera would shake wildly, and the characters would all smoke. It seemed a single Furong Wang could solve countless troubles. Occasionally, he would read the English subtitles aloud, struggling but earnest. So often, after a movie ended, Feng Tang would savor it but not really know what it was about.
He valued the flavor and feeling of watching, never focusing on the plot. He treated love the same way.
After the meal, Feng Lulin received an urgent notice, with Qiao Ce urging him to hurry back to the team.
Seeing his anxious face, Feng Tang naturally knew something had happened at the brigade and said he would take a taxi home later. He was still very distressed.
This place was a bit far from the city’s fourth brigade, located in a residential area on a small hill. After passing the tunnel, there was still a section of bridge to cross, wading through the riverbank to reach the bustling part.
There was a brick-paved alley here. After the meal, as Feng Tang saw him off, the two walked on it for a short distance.
Feng Tang recalled the imperial pastries and dragon whisker candy from his childhood, the neighboring shop selling hookah mixed with honey and orange, which burned green with a strong kick.
The beautiful proprietress was known throughout the street, often applying some bean paste red lipstick.
Listening, Feng Lulin couldn’t help but laugh, “You’ve had a pretty rich life.”
Feng Tang said, “It’s alright. I also sold newspapers and distributed flyers… When I was five or six, I sold CDs in the park. My dad wanted to train the three of us, gave us thirty CDs each, and whoever sold them first would get a reward, but if you didn’t sell them, you couldn’t come back. I sold them in half an hour and when I got back to the car, He Qing was already curled up asleep with a bottle of soda finished.”
Feng Lulin’s gaze softened gradually, though he himself didn’t feel particularly gentle.
He asked, “Why? Weren’t you as good at talking as him? I don’t believe it.”
“I seriously talk to people about what songs there are, how great the features are, the value of having a legitimate CD, and its collectible worth… He Qingtian, on the other hand, begs people, ‘Please, buy one, just one.’ Like the little match girl selling matches.”
Feng Tang also laughed.
Having spent such a pleasant morning, Feng Tang inexplicably found something of himself in Feng Lulin. He shrugged his shoulders, as if smiling, though the curve of his mouth drooped a bit. “Actually, I’m pretty bad, I lose at everything I do.”
Feng Lulin reached out to press his lips, trying to make him smile.
“You’ve won me,” Feng Lulin said.
The man’s voice was low, carrying a bit of seduction. Feng Tang felt a tingling sensation in one ear and nodded towards him, as if affirming his words.
Seeing Feng Tang’s inviting expression, Feng Lulin couldn’t hold back any longer. He rubbed his chin and then pinched it tightly, forcing him to look up.
With the wind blowing across the river and the afternoon sunlight at the turn of spring and summer, Feng Lulin wanted to kiss him.
“Stop, stop, don’t get all lovey-dovey out here…”
After saying this, Feng Tang avoided him, then closed his eyes resignedly, “Forget it, I give up.”
As if punishing him for dodging, Feng Lulin didn’t kiss him, just bit his lip and took a small sip. He smelled the sandalwood scent on Feng Lulin again, mixed with his masculinity, surprisingly fitting.
Feng Tang thought of the white tin clock at the head of his bed, its tail ringing… Every day it woke him from the abyss in the sunlight, pulling him into a new dawn.
Upon hearing the incident was related to the Fourth Squad, Feng Lulin went straight to the hospital.
His visits to the hospital had surged recently, and Feng Wangan was already considering whether he should continue doing this.
Xia Yitiao had arranged to meet him in the evening, saying it was urgent. Feng Lulin was pressed for time.
A group of people stood outside the inpatient department, some in plain clothes, all familiar faces, former comrades of Feng Lulin. Patrol cars, larger than police cars, were parked there. A few armed patrol officers who had met him before nodded in greeting.
The incident involved the traffic police team, and as the team leader, Feng Lulin had to follow up on it. He followed Qiao Ce all the way, bypassing a hallway crowded with reporters, to see the team member lying in the hospital bed.
Qiao Ce explained that the city had set up a checkpoint today, but a motorcyclist refused to stop, accelerated, changed lanes, and forcefully broke through, sending the team member flying along with the guardrail, breaking his leg.
“Was there organized street racing again last night?” Feng Lulin asked.
Qiao Ce was fuming, “We inspected more than ten high-displacement motorcycles last night. It’s all because of that ‘Urban Roaring Party,’ speeding in the city at night, seeking death!”
“How is the barrier crasher being handled, detained at the station? Who reviews the media reports on this?” Feng Lulin pulled the curtains in the ward, turned to Qiao Ce, and quietly asked, “During the inspection last night, did someone say our team stole his money?”
Qiao Ce sighed, “People nowadays are really bad… He admitted it was slander, just causing trouble. He’s already been detained. There were also two people who overturned their cars and blocked the road last night, refusing to move their cars, saying they were waiting for the insurance company. And guess what? Xiao Xu from the Third Squad went to persuade them and got his arm bitten.”
“I understand,” Feng Lulin replied with a gloomy face, feeling extremely depressed.
Qiao Ce lowered his head to pick up the medical records, choking up, “They all have families, siblings, elders… How can they not show a little more understanding for each other?”
Feng Lulin packed the team member’s uniform into a bag and handed it to Bai Yangyue to keep. “Xiao Bai, stay at the hospital for the next few days, keep an eye on any developments, and call if anything comes up.”
“Damn! Captain Lin, a little kid slapped the back of my head today!” Bai Yangyue gritted his teeth in anger. “I was on duty, and this brat just ran over and hit me, then ran away.”
Amused, the atmosphere in the ward lightened. Feng Lulin asked, “And then?”
Bai Yangyue stuck out his tongue, “Haha, Wu Ge and the others caught him. That kid was nabbed at the next intersection, now waiting for his guardian.”
Encountering all sorts of strange people was common, but Feng Lulin had never seen such a brazen kid.
He felt more and more like a “community policeman,” dealing with everything from people afraid to cross the road to flat tires, all seeking their help.
He patted Bai Yangyue on the shoulder, “Go rest for a while, don’t overwork yourself.”
Bai Yangyue nodded and rubbed his forehead, squinting his eyes.
He had been exhausted for over a month, the workload was too intense. He was young, just started working, and found it hard to endure.
He sat on a soft stool, tucked in the injured team member, then left the ward to communicate with the nurse.
In the privately arranged ward, only the sleeping injured team member, Qiao Ce, and Feng Lulin remained.
Feng Lulin whispered to Qiao Ce, “Does the tracking and surveillance system show any issues?”
“The information on the escaping vehicle has been handed over to the criminal investigation team. We just need to keep an eye on it. By the way, the vehicles with prior offenses have been marked. We can monitor them in the city at any time.”
Qiao Ce opened a picture, “Captain Lin, this is a newly registered car this month. The owner has some connection with Mr. Feng… seems to be one of his brothers.”
“A brother?” Feng Lulin glanced at it, “My dad passed it to you?”
“Yes, he asked to keep an eye on it. And this one, an Audi A6, Mr. Feng’s.”
Qiao Ce continued, pulling up the file, fingers brushing the screen, sighing, “The damaged facilities on the highway are still being recovered.”
Feng Lulin’s heart skipped a beat, but to avoid showing too much, he silently noted it.
“Our squad, along with other squads, has recovered a total of over 200,000 yuan of state property. It’s been tough.”
Feng Lulin patted his shoulder, “I’m on the front line, you guys in the back need to watch out for your safety.”
Qiao Ce stood at attention and saluted, and Feng Lulin returned the salute, saying he had other matters to attend to and had to leave. Qiao Ce assured him that both the hospital and the team would be well taken care of.
Xia Yitiao’s meeting place was less than 500 meters from the hospital, in an alley.
Feng Lulin pulled his hat and mask down, blending into the crowd, but his height made him stand out, so he had to detour through a bustling market.
Entering a small door and into the alley, he saw Xia Yitiao had parked a jeep by the roadside, all in matte green.
He opened the car door and got into the back seat. Xia Yitiao rolled down the window halfway to let in some air. Starting the vehicle, he said, “Brother Lin, do you remember my motorcycle? It was Uncle Feng who had me follow it, but your team confiscated it… Didn’t you explain it to them?”
Feng Lulin lit a cigarette, “My dad didn’t even say who I am. Only his informant in the team knows.”
Xia Yitiao sighed, “You two play this spy game? Hiding you since childhood, isn’t it tiring?”
“High-risk occupation. One mistake and the family gets implicated.”
Feng Lulin didn’t mind, he was used to it and understood. He occasionally enjoyed the “privileges,” and didn’t slack off on learning. Positions and power were “will to summit” for him.
Saying men don’t aspire to power is impossible, but watching Feng Wangang stand so high, he understood that his father was just like those small hills…
No smaller, no more tumultuous.
They talked about the specific matters of Cen Qi’s underground club, Feng Lulin closed his eyes and memorized everything. They had placed Xia San in the second-generation circle for a while, but Cen Qi hadn’t made any big moves yet.
Feng Lulin emphasized not to startle the enemy, and Xia Yitiao nodded repeatedly, assuring him.
Xia Yitiao slowly drove onto the bridge crossing the river, sticking to the slow lane.
With this survival crisis resolved, he couldn’t help but gossip, “Brother Lin, what’s going on with you and Feng Tang? Everyone’s been talking about him lately. Wasn’t the former municipal secretary who died in a car accident his father? No wonder Feng Tang has such a solid background, ‘Little Prince.'”
“Chairman Liu manages Zhonghang, not a small state-owned enterprise, and has a heavy burden with airport construction in recent years,” Feng Lulin relaxed, though the steep seat made him uncomfortable. “I’ve had many interactions with Feng Tang.”
Adjusting his position, he looked into the rearview mirror, “He’s special. Very much like me.”
Xia Yitiao grinned, “Oh, Feng Tang is just a charmer, isn’t he? Who in the circle doesn’t like him?”
“But he only likes me.”
Rolling down the window further, the wind from the river made Feng Lulin squint his eyes. Feng Tang represented sweetness in his heart—a sweet appearance, a sweet voice, and a sometimes playful nature, as sweet as sugarcane juice.
Even his name was sweet, whether it was “maple syrup” or “honey.” Feng Lulin was willing to endure a sting for him.
“Wow… Lin-ge, did you really get him?” Xia Yi-tiao asked in astonishment.
Feng Lulin, displeased, replied, “What do you mean ‘get him’? Show some respect.”
Xia Yi-tiao was taken aback. “What? I remember, I’m about the same age as him?”
“He’s now in the same generation as me, understand?” Feng Lulin stubbed out his cigarette in the car’s ashtray, squinting. “Soon, you’ll have to call him ‘big sister-in-law.’”
Xia Yi-tiao, quick-witted, understood immediately and grinned, “Wow, who would’ve thought you two would actually get serious.”
Feng Lulin simply said, “There’s no playing around… I just can’t let him go.”
This city’s cross-river bridge was part of a complete national highway network, spanning thirty kilometers with six lanes in both directions. Construction started when Feng Lulin was seven and finished when he was ten.
In his childhood, he had visited this bridge only once or twice. Although his hometown was in a neighboring province, it still took an hour by plane.
He remembered witnessing a horrific traffic accident during his second visit. A car had broken through the barrier, crashing into maintenance workers, resulting in five deaths and three injuries—a gruesome sight.
That day, he heard Feng Wan-gang say that although this city wasn’t the largest in the region or a directly governed municipality, it had the second highest number of cars in the country. Countless accidents like this happened every year.
Millions of people lived around cars and survived around roads.
As fog rose over the river, Xia Yi-tiao turned on the radio, which announced evening showers and a temperature drop the next morning.
Feng Lulin, having rare free time to listen to the radio, found the female broadcaster’s voice less appealing than Feng Tang’s.
Seeing Feng Lulin’s increasingly sharp furrowed brow through the central rearview mirror, Xia Yi-tiao was reminded of the phrase “mountains and rain approach the building with wind.”
The horizon ahead gradually darkened, and countless cars were stuck in a long traffic jam on the cross-river bridge.
Feeling a slight pain from an old throat injury, Feng Lulin coughed a few times, pinching his neck, and took out his phone to message Feng Tang: *It will rain tomorrow. Remember to bring an umbrella.*
Feng Tang replied immediately: *Why do you care?*
So, early the next morning, Feng Tang decided to wait for Feng Lulin downstairs at his apartment.
It was raining, and Feng Lulin had to go to work. If he got soaked and lost his mind, it would affect him too.
Seeing Bai Yang-yue come out while he was parked at the neighborhood entrance, Feng Tang felt increasingly uneasy.
This was the guy who had driven them to the hospital after their street fight, always following Feng Lulin and calling him “Captain” sweetly.
And last time, Feng Lulin didn’t give him his chicken leg and instead gave it to this guy!
Living together now? Feng Tang’s face turned even darker. No way, he’s a direct person.
“Hello!”
Feng Tang stood in front of Bai Yang-yue as he opened the car door.
“Hi, hi, you too…”
Recognizing him as a potentially troublesome “acquaintance of the boss,” Bai Yang-yue forced a smile, nodded, and stepped back, ready to leave.
Feng Tang quickly pressed his shoulder, “Wait a minute! Where do you think you’re going… Do you live here?”
“Yeah, I live here.” Bai Yang-yue was stunned, not knowing what was going on. He just came to get some clean clothes and was rushing to the hospital.
Suspicious, Feng Tang asked, “Do you live with Feng Lulin? Are you neighbors? In the same complex?”
Alarm bells rang in Bai Yang-yue’s head. He guessed that Feng Lulin had his reasons. He hadn’t thought much about it before… like “cohabitation.”
Thinking of how Feng Lulin had asked for his door number earlier, he calmly replied, “Yes, we live together.”
Feng Tang was stunned: “What? Didn’t he say he lived with his dad?”
What’s going on here…
“I’m his dad…”
Bai Yangue blurted out without thinking, then quickly corrected himself, “No, no, no, I mean, I, I, I! I live with Captain and his dad…”
Feng Tang’s eyes widened in disbelief: “What? You’ve already met his parents?”
I haven’t even met his dad!!!!
Hey guys it’s SheWee!!!!
Imagine Feng Lulin walking in and hearing Bai Yangue say ‘I am Captain Lin’s dad’ LOL
![He Lived Like You [End of the World]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/HLLY.jpg "He Lived Like You [End of the World]")
