RTCBM 40

Mu Yuan had always seen Wen Shang as someone fierce and ruthless. But after hearing that story from Xiang Yang today, he was surprised to realize that Wen Shang actually had a softer side when it came to someone he truly liked. He could be shaken by love, he could get hurt, get disappointed, feel heartbroken. The closer Mu Yuan got to him, the more new thoughts kept surfacing in his mind.

On his way back from the tattoo shop, Mu Yuan passed by a reptile pet store. He happened to glance at the storefront. Inside the glass display case at the entrance were all kinds of reptiles. Just seeing them made him think of Wen Shang, and then he remembered what Xiang Yang had told him.

Back when Wen Shang was dating Hua You, Hua You had a deep fear of reptiles. Every time he saw Nai Gai, he would get goosebumps and couldn’t overcome his fear no matter what. In the end, Wen Shang gave up the pet he had raised since childhood and sent it back to China, asking his family to take care of it. After he broke up with Hua You and returned home, he planned to bring Nai Gai back to his side. But his family didn’t know how to properly care for reptiles. They didn’t notice the signs when Nai Gai got sick, and it almost died. That incident weighed heavily on Wen Shang. He blamed himself for a long time, filled with regret. He felt like he had really let Nai Gai down. From then on, he swore that no matter who he met in the future, no matter how important they were, he would never again compromise or give up his beloved pet for anyone. Whoever wanted to be with him would have to accept Nai Gai. Otherwise, no matter how strong the feelings were, it would be meaningless.

Mu Yuan immediately pictured a divorced single dad with a kid, sitting across from a blind date with a serious face, saying,
“If you want to be with me, you’ll have to accept my child first.”

The more he thought about it, the funnier it got. He burst out laughing.

Feeling suddenly curious, Mu Yuan stepped into the reptile shop.

A lot of the creatures here were ones Mu Yuan had never seen before. He pressed his face up to the glass window, closely watching a horned frog devour a baby mouse. The store clerk saw how absorbed he was and assumed he was interested in the frog. With a friendly tone, he came over and asked, “Sir, can I help you with anything?”

Mu Yuan smiled and waved his hand. “Just looking around.”

The clerk didn’t mind. He kept up the cheerful tone and started introducing all kinds of new and exotic reptiles in the shop, though he “accidentally” skipped over one creature sitting quietly in a corner tank.

Mu Yuan walked over, bent down slightly, and peered into the tank. “What’s this one called?”

The clerk explained it was a three-month-old Argentine black and white tegu hatchling. It had been reserved by a previous buyer, but after paying the deposit, the buyer never came back to complete the payment. They hadn’t been able to reach him, so the tegu had been left sitting there, waiting for someone else to take it home.

Mu Yuan stared at the little guy lying still in the tank. After thinking for a moment, he turned to the clerk. “How much is it?”

By the time Wen Shang returned to his office after a meeting, he noticed something new sitting on his desk. A glass tank with a little black-and-white tegu lying inside. He glanced toward the couch. Mu Yuan was sprawled out lazily, playing a game on his phone.

Wen Shang walked over and pointed at the tank on his desk. “What’s that?”

“Black-and-white tegu,” Mu Yuan replied without even looking up. “You know more about reptiles than I do. No way you don’t recognize it.”

“I know it’s a tegu. I’m asking why the hell you brought it here.”

Mu Yuan exited the game and set down his phone. He got up from the couch and patted Wen Shang on the shoulder with a smug grin. “I got it as a companion for your Nai Gai. Poor thing’s been stuck at home alone all this time. And you, as the owner, haven’t thought about how lonely it must be?”

But Wen Shang’s reaction was far from what Mu Yuan expected. He didn’t look the least bit pleased.

“Out of everything you could’ve bought, you just had to get a living creature?” Wen Shang’s tone was sharp, like he was scolding him. “Did you even think about whether it would be a burden? Do you have any idea how much time and effort it takes to raise a pet?”

Mu Yuan admitted that buying the tegu had been a bit impulsive. He hadn’t thought it through. But it wasn’t like he did it to make Wen Shang’s life harder. Now that his good intentions were being treated like some kind of burden, he was starting to get annoyed.

“Fine. If you don’t want it, then forget it. I’ll take it back and raise it myself.”

“You know how to raise reptiles? Do you understand their habits? What do they eat? How many times a week do you feed them? How many hours of light do they need every day? What temperature range should you maintain? Do you know any of that?”

Mu Yuan was stumped. He couldn’t answer.

“If you don’t even know the basics of how to take care of it, why the hell are you keeping a reptile?”

Getting scolded like that pissed Mu Yuan off. He marched over, grabbed the tank off the desk, and said, “Then I’ll just go return it right now, alright?”

He was halfway out the door when someone yanked him back. Wen Shang snatched the tank from his hands.

“When did I say I wasn’t keeping it?”

Mu Yuan was seriously fed up. He’d tried to do something nice, only to get lectured for it. And after all that, the guy still kept the gift. What the hell was his problem?

—

“Xiao Wen, I heard you picked up a new pet recently. A black-and-white tegu, right?” Shen Dandong sat relaxed in the sauna and looked over at Wen Shang.

The two of them had bonded over exotic pets. They’d met through the reptile community, and that eventually led to Wen Shang becoming an external strategy advisor for Quan Xing.

Every time Shen Dandong invited Wen Shang out for dinner or massages, their conversations were always at least eighty or ninety percent about reptiles, aside from necessary work talk.

“Dong-ye, you really do have sharp ears. That tegu’s only been home with me for three days and you already know about it.”

Shen Dandong laughed. “I wasn’t even trying to find out. I stopped by the frozen meat shop the other day to stock up for my pack of little bone dragons. Ah Jie told me you’d just been there too, said he saw a new tegu in your car. Said it was a beautiful specimen. Where’d you get it?”

“It was a gift,” Wen Shang said.

“Oh? From another reptile lover like yourself?” Shen Dandong was intrigued. As far as he knew, aside from himself, no one in Wen Shang’s circle was really into reptiles.

“You know him too. It’s Mu Yuan from Sheng Yi.”

Shen Dandong still vividly remembered the absurd mess that happened during the flower cannon event that day. “Tell me, Xiao Wen, when did you and Mu Yuan get so close?”

Wen Shang smiled faintly. “There were some misunderstandings between us before, but that’s all cleared up now.”

Shen Dandong had a high opinion of Mu Yuan. “That kid’s really something. He’s got a way with words, knows how to deal with people, and he’s damn good at getting things done. A rare talent. It’s just that he’s hot-headed as hell. He’s exactly like his second uncle.”

Wen Shang stiffened at those words. He kept his expression neutral as he asked, “You knew Mu Yuan’s second uncle?”

Shen Dandong let out a loud laugh. “Back in the day, who in this business didn’t know Mu Huafeng?”

“He was that well known?” Wen Shang was intrigued. Mu Yuan had never mentioned anything like this to him before.

“He was Sheng Yi’s most famous Red Pole in all these years.”

A Red Pole was what people commonly call a top enforcer. In the underworld, they were known as fighters. Mu Huafeng wasn’t just skilled in martial arts. He was bold, loyal, and valued brotherhood more than anything. Whenever his brothers were in trouble, he never hesitated to step up. Plenty of people in the underworld owed him favors. Anyone who had crossed paths with Mu Huafeng admired the way he carried himself. In fact, his name rang louder out in the streets than it ever did within the triad itself.

After they came out of the sauna, Shen Dandong pulled down the towel wrapped around his waist slightly and pointed to a surgical scar on his side. “This,” he said, “was from back when Mu Huafeng and I fought a group from Qi Tai. Got stabbed during that mess. Took eight stitches at the hospital.”

“Qi Tai?” Wen Shang hadn’t heard that name before. “Is that another triad?”

“That’s right,” Shen Dandong told him. Just like now, back in the day Xin Yue City had four major triads keeping each other in check. They were Sheng Yi, Yuan Shun, Quan Xing, and Qi Tai.

“So what happened to Qi Tai after that?”

“It disbanded.” Shen Dandong didn’t go into detail. He simply told Wen Shang, “If you’re curious, you can search for city news from nine years ago. Just use the right keywords.”

Pretending not to know, Wen Shang asked casually, “That Red Pole from Sheng Yi you mentioned earlier… he’s retired now? I’d really love the chance to meet such a legendary senior one day.”

A hint of regret passed across Shen Dandong’s face. “He’s… long gone.”

Wen Shang leaned forward slightly. “What happened to him?”

“Word is, he got into a fight with some guys from Qi Tai while eating dinner outside and got shot. It was a sniper hit, from a distance. Judging by how clean it was, whoever did it was definitely a professional. There were no security cameras nearby, and the scene was a mess. No one could find any leads.”

That was all Shen Dandong knew, just bits and pieces he’d heard from others. Maybe the topic was too grim. He made the call to drop it right there.

After finishing his shower and returning to the locker room to change, Wen Shang habitually checked his phone. A new message had come in. It was from Mu Yuan, whose contact nickname had quietly been changed from “Rich Punk” to “Brain Dead.”

Mu Yuan was asking if he was free tonight. Wen Shang’s first thought was that the guy was probably trying to hook up again. That was the logical assumption, considering Mu Yuan’s usual level of brainless behavior. Best to keep expectations low.

Wen Shang replied with a simple “mn.”

Soon, another message came: Let’s have dinner.

He wants to eat, not fuck? Now that’s a surprise. Wen Shang had just started typing when Mu Yuan’s call came through.

As soon as he picked up, the other side asked, “Are you home?”

“No, I’m out. Heading back now.”

Mu Yuan’s tone sounded unusually upbeat. “Wanna grab dinner later?”

“Where at? Send me the address. I’ll take a cab.” Wen Shang was already dressed and getting ready to leave.

“Huh? You didn’t drive today? Then don’t bother with a cab. I’m already out too. I’ll come pick you up on the way.”

Judging by how things usually went, Wen Shang figured this idiot probably didn’t just want dinner. Still, all he said was, “Sure.”

At a quarter past six in the evening, Wen Shang stood outside the spa club. Not far off, the roar of an engine cut through the air. A slick, fiery red motorbike raced into view. The rider, dressed in a snug jacket, swung the bike around with a sharp skid and stopped right in front of him.

Mu Yuan took off his helmet, shot him a wink, and gave him that usual cheeky grin. He tipped his chin. “Hey, handsome. You waiting for someone? Want a ride with Master Mu?”

Because of the helmet, Mu Yuan hadn’t styled his hair with gel today. His tea-brown hair looked soft against his fair skin, and it actually suited him. Wen Shang also noticed the two pink-and-white hairpins clipped on the right side of his head, pinning back a few loose strands.

Mu Yuan struck a pose and beamed. “What do you think? Isn’t my new look handsome enough to leave you speechless?”

“Quit showing off,” Wen Shang said, trying not to laugh. Honestly, it wasn’t handsome that came to mind. It was more like cute. Especially those two hairpins. They didn’t make Mu Yuan look feminine at all. Instead, they gave off a lively vibe.

Wen Shang took a step forward and couldn’t help reaching out to ruffle Mu Yuan’s hair. Even after being dyed, the strands still felt smooth.

“Hey, quit it, will you? You’re messing up my hair.” Mu Yuan hurried to bat his hand away.

Wen Shang ignored him and reached out again, petting him like a dog. It felt oddly satisfying. He smiled as he tousled the soft hair.

“It looks good,” Wen Shang said.

Delighted by the praise, Mu Yuanstopped resisting and let him continue, completely unaware of the strange looks they were getting from nearby pedestrians.

“Where are we eating?” Wen Shang took the helmet from his hands.

“There’s a Chaoshan beef hotpot place I really like. I’ll take you to try it.” Mu Yuan swung onto the bike and started the engine. He turned back to remind the passenger behind him, “We’re rolling out, so hold on tight. If you fly off, don’t blame me.”

The hand around his waist suddenly moved, creeping downward. Cold fingers slipped under his shirt and pinched him right on the stomach.

Through the visor of his helmet, Mu Yuan turned and glared at Wen Shang. “What the hell are you touching?! If we crash, we’re both screwed!”

Wen Shang had had his fun messing around and finally settled in properly, wrapping his arms around Mu Yuan and sitting firmly in place as Mu Yuan took him weaving through the traffic.

That Chaoshan beef hotpot place Mu Yuan mentioned was a first for Wen Shang. It was right at dinnertime, and the restaurant was packed with customers. Since there weren’t enough seats, the owner had even set up extra tables outside.

Mu Yuan picked a spot near a breezy corner and ordered a clear soup base along with eight or nine plates of beef flank, tripe, tongue, and beef meatballs.

Wen Shang noticed he had only ordered meat and asked, “Why didn’t you get any vegetables?”

“I hate veggies the most,” Mu Yuan replied, curling his lip at the mention of greens.

“How old are you? Still this picky with food?” Wen Shang figured he needed to straighten this guy out a bit and called the waiter back to add an order of lettuce and another of romaine.

After that drinking incident last time, Mu Yuan was still dealing with some aftereffects. He had to be careful with his eating habits.

Wen Shang knew the guy had a greedy mouth. He didn’t care about table manners, and worse, he always gobbled down food like a starving wolf. Worried that the hotpot might be too hot and upset his stomach, Wen Shang kept stopping Mu Yuan from diving into the pot. Every time Mu Yuan reached in with his chopsticks, Wen Shang would get there first, scoop the food out, let it cool on a plate, and only then put it in Mu Yuan’s bowl.

The scene between the two didn’t go unnoticed. A group of girls at the next table caught sight of it and couldn’t help whispering to each other excitedly. One girl couldn’t contain herself and blurted out, “Oh my god, this is so sweet.”

Mu Yuan finally looked up from his food and followed the voice. The girl who had spoken turned bright red and quickly ducked her head, pretending to look at her phone.

“What are they so excited about?” he asked.

Wen Shang placed some cooled slices of fatty beef into his bowl and said casually, “They said you’re handsome.”

“They’ve got taste,” Mu Yuan said shamelessly, completely unapologetic about the compliment. He tried to use the conversation as a distraction to sneakily dump the greens Wen Shang had given him. But Wen Shang knew him too well and, without missing a beat, tossed another heap of vegetables into his bowl.

“Don’t think I’m blind. Eat all of that. Now.”

Mu Yuan pouted unhappily and pretended not to hear.

Wen Shang leaned back in his chair and casually tossed out an offer. “Eat a bite of vegetable and I’ll send you two hundred yuan.”

“I’ll eat it!”

His sulky face instantly brightened, and he grinned from ear to ear as he eagerly picked up the vegetables and shoved them into his mouth.

Once he got a taste of the reward, he naturally had the motivation to continue. Mu Yuan ended up polishing off nearly both plates of greens all by himself.

After eating his fill, he slouched comfortably in the chair, grinning like an idiot as he tapped through the red packets on WeChat. He did the math and found that he’d raked in six thousand yuan in total. That amount was about the same as the tie clip he bought Wen Shang last time. It wasn’t exactly a profit, but at least he broke even.

Mu Yuan patted his full belly and said to Wen Shang across the table, “Once we pay the bill, come with me somewhere.”

Hotel was the first thing that came to Wen Shang’s mind. He only thought that way because he was viewing it through Mu Yuan’s logic. Of course, he didn’t say it out loud.

“Where to?” he looked at Mu Yuan, already mentally prepared for whatever answer he might give.

Unexpectedly, Mu Yuan’s expression was rather serious. He pulled up a photo from his phone’s album and handed it to Wen Shang. The image showed a middle-aged man around forty years old. His looks were plain, and he had a slightly pudgy build. Judging by the angle, it was clearly a candid shot.

Mu Yuan pointed at the man in the photo and told him, “That’s the ‘Fat Bear’ I mentioned before. His real name is Wang Hao. He used to be one of my second uncle’s guys. Later, he immigrated to Canada. But he came back to the country last month.”

Wen Shang quickly caught on to what Mu Yuan had in mind. “You want to go see him?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say go see him exactly. I just want to swing by and check out the situation.”

“How exactly are you planning to check the situation?”

Mu Yuan didn’t give a clear explanation. He just said, “You’ll find out when we get there.”

After they left the Chaoshan hotpot restaurant, Mu Yuan took Wen Shang to the base of an apartment building. He parked the motorcycle in a dim corner, and the two of them hid in the trees nearby.

Mu Yuan pointed toward a lit unit on the fifth floor. That was where Wang Hao lived. For the past while, he had been coming here every day to keep watch. Wang Hao had a very fixed routine. Sometimes during the day, he would go to Lei Tang, but the rest of the time he stayed home. Every night after eight, he would change into workout clothes and go out jogging. He usually came back around ten.

It was seven fifty. Mu Yuan had timed it precisely. Around ten minutes later, Wang Hao really did come out of the building in loose sportswear.

Mu Yuan patted Wen Shang on the shoulder and pointed in Wang Hao’s direction. “Didn’t you say someone once pointed a gun at you when you went to my house looking for Uncle Hua? Could it be him?”

“I already told you. That guy was about the same height as Uncle Hua.” Wen Shang kept his eyes on Wang Hao. “This guy is at most one seventy-five. He’s way shorter. It can’t be him.”

“Maybe he shrank with age.”

“You think he’s some seventy or eighty-year-old grandpa? That’s not how it works.” Wen Shang suddenly smacked Mu Yuan on the head.

“Hey, what was that for? I’m just talking.”

Wen Shang didn’t respond. Sometimes, just looking at Mu Yuan made him want to hit him. There were plenty of reasons. He was dumb, he always acted like he was asking for it, and he had no filter.

Wang Hao had already walked far away. The two of them wasted no time and headed upstairs.

“How are you planning to get in?” Wen Shang looked at the securely locked metal gate.

“I’ve got it covered.” Mu Yuan looked absolutely confident. With Wen Shang watching closely, he smugly took off the two hair clips he had on earlier. They had been altered beforehand. He slid them into the keyhole and began twisting one to the left, the other to the right.

The lock clicked open without much effort.

“All done,” Mu Yuan said with a grin. “Piece of cake.”

Wen Shang stood beside him and kept staring.

“What are you looking at?” Mu Yuan didn’t care. He held up the hair clips in front of Wen Shang and waved them around. “If you’re gonna run in the streets, you gotta learn a few tricks to survive.”

The apartment was pitch black. To avoid being spotted, the two of them moved cautiously with the flashlight on, checking every corner.

Mu Yuan snickered and jabbed Wen Shang with his elbow. “You don’t think this feels like a burglary?”

“It doesn’t feel like it. You are breaking and entering,” Wen Shang replied, annoyed.

“We are,” Mu Yuan corrected him. “Don’t forget you’re an accomplice.”

“Quit yapping and get to it,” Wen Shang urged him.

The apartment was relatively new. According to He Dongying’s investigation, Wang Hao had only rented this place temporarily after returning to the country. There wasn’t much worth seeing in the common area. Mu Yuan headed straight for the bedroom. In Wang Hao’s suitcase, he found his Canadian passport. The name listed was his current identity—Lu Jianhang.

There were also some clothes and personal items, but nothing else.

On the table, Wen Shang spotted a photo frame and motioned for Mu Yuan. “Come look at this.”

It was an old picture of Wang Hao and Mu Huafeng. The two of them were sitting shoulder to shoulder, laughing into the camera. They looked close.

“That was taken at my place,” Mu Yuan said, pointing to the couch in the background.

Wen Shang quickly covered his mouth and whispered, “Someone’s back.”

Mu Yuan perked up. He heard a key turning in the lock. The lights in the living room suddenly flicked on.

“Didn’t you say he comes back at ten?” Wen Shang hissed.

“I didn’t expect anything to change tonight… maybe he forgot something and came back to get it…” Mu Yuan looked helpless. In a panic, he spotted the wardrobe nearby, grabbed Wen Shang, and pulled him inside.

The wardrobe was narrow. With both of them standing inside, two tall men over 180cm had no choice but to press tightly against each other in an awkward, overly close posture.

The footsteps moved from the living room into the bedroom. The person paced around for a bit, then the place fell quiet.

Two, maybe three minutes later, the voice outside suddenly rang out.

“You two hiding in the wardrobe, come out right now.”

Mu Yuan and Wen Shang both froze. They’d been careful when they entered, making sure everything was put back the way it was. But even so, they’d still been found.

“What do we do now?” Mu Yuan whispered to Wen Shang. He hadn’t expected anything like this to happen. “Should we just rush out and fight him?”

“Don’t move yet.” Wen Shang stopped him, still trying to think of a way out.

They waited in silence.

Wang Hao didn’t hear any movement and quickly moved on to the next step.

“If you don’t come out right now, I’ll shoot. Don’t blame me afterward.”

The sound of metal snapping into place rang out clearly. They both recognized it. He was loading the gun.

Neither of them knew what kind of person Wang Hao really was. Whether he would actually fire or not, no one could say for sure. Staying inside might be just as dangerous as going out.

Mu Yuan suddenly asked, “If we really die here tonight, got any last words?”

Wen Shang didn’t answer. He reached over and took Mu Yuan’s hand. It was hot, slightly damp with sweat. He didn’t know whose sweat it was. Maybe his, maybe Mu Yuan’s, or maybe both. He had thought about it. If they really couldn’t make it out of this room tonight, what then?

Maybe it would end here. If it did, then at least this idiot needed to understand how he truly felt.

Inside the dark wardrobe, Wen Shang couldn’t see Mu Yuan’s face, but he didn’t need to. He relied on instinct and found those soft lips. He kissed him hard, pouring in all his tenderness, desire, and deep affection.