RTCBM 57

After returning from Japan, everything went back to normal. Ever since confirming their relationship, work was no longer the center of Wen Shang’s life. He left the office on time every day, cut back on unnecessary social gatherings and dinner parties, and tried to dedicate more of his personal time to Mu Yuan. They ate together, strolled through the city, watched movies, then headed home to enjoy the kinds of things only two people in love could share.

At three thirty in the afternoon, with still two hours left before the end of the workday, Wen Shang sat in his office staring at the wall clock. For the first time ever, he found himself complaining about how slowly time passed at work. Even though a stack of files was waiting on his desk for approval, he couldn’t bring himself to move. Lately, he felt lazier than ever.

As he dazed off in his chair, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen and immediately perked up when he saw the name on it. He picked up the call.

“Hey, wifey!” Mu Yuan’s voice was full of excitement. “Guess what? I saw this video online about making grilled steak, so I went to the supermarket just now and bought some. I’m planning to give it a try at home. After work, come over to my place and taste my amazing cooking. You’ll be blown away, ha!”

“You cook? I might die from eating your food,” Wen Shang teased him.

Mu Yuan huffed in protest. “Fine then, don’t eat it. I went through all this trouble just to cook for you, watched videos, bought the ingredients, and now you don’t even want to come over? Whatever. Suit yourself.”

“I was just kidding,” Wen Shang quickly coaxed him. “Even if it tastes like crap, I’ll still eat it. Happy now?”

“The hell? You calling my food crap? I may not have cooked before, but it’s not going to be that bad,” Mu Yuan snapped, clearly irritated.

“If you keep your expectations low, you won’t be disappointed.”

“And hey, Big Breasts Wen, when did your language get so vulgar? You weren’t like this before.”

“Probably rubbed off from being around you too much,” Wen Shang said with a grin. “Not a bad thing. It means we’re a good match.”

They continued to bicker affectionately on the phone for a while. In the end, Mu Yuan made Wen Shang promise to stop by the dessert shop downstairs from the office and bring him a cake as compensation. Only then was he satisfied and hung up.

Carrying grocery bags and humming to himself, Mu Yuan got off the elevator and walked to his front door. As he reached into his pocket for his keys, he suddenly froze. There were clear scratch marks around the keyhole, as if someone had tried to pry it open. He gave the door a gentle push, and it swung open.

Thinking it was a break-in, Mu Yuan’s anger flared. Who would be bold enough to try breaking into his place? Clearly, they had no idea whose door they were messing with.

He stormed into the apartment, only to find everything neat and untouched. The living room was clean, not a single item out of place. On the sofa sat a few tall, well-built men. The moment they saw him, they stood up one by one and walked toward him with hostile expressions.

Mu Yuan didn’t know who they were, but he could tell they were trouble. He dropped the bags and turned to run, only to be caught off guard by someone lying in wait. A wooden stick struck the back of his head. He didn’t even get the chance to dodge. His vision went black, and he collapsed on the spot.

At exactly five thirty, Wen Shang clocked out on time. He stopped by the dessert shop downstairs and ordered one of each of Mu Yuan’s favorite cakes, all neatly packed to go, then drove straight to his place.

When he arrived downstairs, he gave Mu Yuan a call, but no one picked up. He didn’t think much of it, assuming Mu Yuan was busy or hadn’t heard the phone, so he simply took the elevator up.

The door to Mu Yuan’s apartment was wide open. Various groceries from the supermarket were scattered messily across the entryway. Wen Shang searched the entire place but couldn’t find any sign of him. A faint sense of unease began to creep in. He pulled out his phone and tried calling again, only to discover Mu Yuan’s phone had been dropped and was now wedged in the gap beneath the shoe cabinet.

The pried-open door, the mess on the floor, and the abandoned phone only made his unease grow stronger. This didn’t feel like some prank Mu Yuan was playing.

He immediately dialed A Zhi’s number to ask if Mu Yuan had gone to the sixth house. The moment the call connected, A Zhi answered in a panic.

“Wen-ge, I… I was just about to call you…”

He sounded breathless, words tumbling out in a stammer, but he forced himself to speak clearly.

“Wen-ge, something’s wrong. Big trouble. Boss is in the hospital. You need to get over here right now.”

Wen Shang’s mind went completely blank. Without stopping to ask for details, he dropped the cakes in his hand and ran out of the apartment without looking back.

By the time he arrived at the hospital, He Dongying, A Zhi, Xiao Xing, and the brothers from the sixth house were all gathered outside the operating room, visibly anxious.

“What the hell happened? What’s going on?” Wen Shang stormed up to A Zhi, grabbing him by the collar. “I just spoke to him this afternoon. He was fine. How the hell did he end up in surgery? What’s going on now?”

He Dongying stepped in and pulled Wen Shang away.

“Calm down. We’re all just as clueless as you are right now.”

A Zhi explained that Mu Yuan had been found lying in a remote alley by a street cleaner. He was barely breathing and covered in blood. The cleaner didn’t dare touch him, so he ran out to the main road for help. Coincidentally, Xiao Xing’s boyfriend happened to be passing by, recognized Mu Yuan right away, and called for an ambulance before notifying Xiao Xing.

“I’ve already sent someone to look into it,” He Dongying said, giving Wen Shang’s shoulder a reassuring pat. “Right now, the most important thing is Mu Yuan. The doctor said his condition is serious.”

Wen Shang felt his chest tighten. Panic and helplessness left his mouth dry.

“How bad is it?” he asked, voice trembling.

“Five broken ribs, multiple fractures in his limbs, and extensive bruises and knife wounds all over his body,” He Dongying said. After a short pause, he added quietly, “His right eye… it took a heavy blow. The injury is severe. There’s a high chance he might lose vision in that eye.”

Wen Shang stood frozen. His mind went blank. He couldn’t process anything. Numb and ice-cold from head to toe, all he could do was stand silently outside the operating room, praying for a miracle. He had never felt so afraid. He had never felt so powerless.

—

After surgery, Mu Yuan was transferred to a VIP ward to rest. The doctor informed Wen Shang and the others that while Mu Yuan’s life was no longer in danger, the extent of his injuries meant he would need a long recovery period. As for his right eye, the situation remained unstable. The hospital had done everything it could, whether it would heal in the end depended partly on Mu Yuan himself, and partly on luck.

Wen Shang quietly walked to the bedside. He didn’t dare to speak casually, and even his breathing was cautious, afraid of disturbing Mu Yuan. Just a few hours ago, this person had been full of life, excitedly talking on the phone about cooking steak for dinner. How long had it been? Now his whole was wrapped in bandages, and there was no place left unscathed.

Wen Shang’s heart ached more than words could express. The pain was like being cut with knives, and his eyes brimmed with tears. But he forced himself to hold it all in, not wanting Mu Yuan to see him looking so weak if he happened to wake up. He made himself wear a smile, so Mu Yuan wouldn’t worry.

His phone suddenly buzzed in his pocket. Wen Shang glanced at the caller ID, then quietly stepped out to the hallway to take the call.

“Any news? Did you find them?”

“I reviewed all the surveillance footage from the surrounding streets,” Gao Zhiyu replied over the phone. “I’ve already identified who did it. But confirming their full identities will take a bit more time.”

“Send me the footage. I’ll handle the rest.”

“Got it,” Gao Zhiyu said, then hung up to send the files.

Wen Shang quickly received the videos. After sorting them by time, he reconstructed what had happened: at around 3:45 p.m., Mu Yuan had been abducted from his home and shoved into a black van. The area they went to had no surveillance coverage, and it wasn’t until over two hours later that the van reappeared in the city. The men dragged Mu Yuan, now severely injured, out of the vehicle and dumped him in a narrow alley before driving off, showing no concern for whether he lived or died.

Wen Shang watched the videos with silent fury. His grip on the phone tightened, veins bulging on the back of his hand. He wanted nothing more than to drag those bastards out and beat them to death.

He forwarded the clips to He Dongying. Soon after, A Zhi and a few of the brothers identified the men in the footage. They were thugs from Yuanshun. And just like that, the truth came into focus.

Mu Yuan had never had a grudge against Yuanshun. Those thugs had clearly been ordered to do this, and there was only one possible reason.

Hua You.

Sun Hai had always known about Mu Yuan’s ties to the Ushijima-gumi. When Hua You got disfigured in Japan, right on their turf, and considering Wen Shang was his ex while Mu Yuan was the current one, the string of coincidences made Sun Hai certain that Mu Yuan was behind it.

Whether Hua You instigated him or Sun Hai acted on his own to settle the score, Wen Shang had no intention of letting it slide. He decided to return the favor in full.

Whether Hua You had incited Sun Hai, or whether Sun Hai took it upon himself to get revenge for her, Wen Shang wasn’t going to let it slide. He was ready to strike back.

That night, Wen Shang left the hospital and returned to Mu Yuan’s apartment. From the safe in Mu Yuan’s room, he retrieved a Type 64 pistol once used by Mu Huafeng. He loaded the magazine, tucked the gun into the inner pocket of his suit jacket, and headed alone to settle the score with Sun Hai.

He sped through the streets, blowing past red lights, flooring the accelerator. The moment he reached the house, he rammed through the iron gates of Sun Hai’s courtyard without stopping, then crashed through the front doors, straight into the living room.

The noise shook the house. Startled guards rushed over to stop him, but Wen Shang, like a lion gone berserk, mowed them down one after another. Anyone who dared stand in his way was knocked to the floor without mercy.

In the living room, the TV was playing a drama series. Sun Hai stepped out of the kitchen in his bathrobe. He froze at the wreckage before him, shocked, and grew furious when he saw an uninvited intruder standing on his turf.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”

Wen Shang wasn’t interested in talking. He roared, “Sun Hai, tell me. Was it you or Hua You who did that to Mu Yuan?”

“It was me,” Sun Hai admitted without a shred of shame. “I sent people after him. So what?”

Rage surged in Wen Shang. He kicked over the coffee table in front of him. “You fucking piece of shit!” he shouted, pulling the pistol from inside his coat and aiming it at Sun Hai.

A sudden bark cut through the room. A pit bull lunged out from somewhere and locked its jaws around Wen Shang’s arm. The unexpected attack made him drop the gun.

Enraged beyond reason, Wen Shang didn’t care if it was a man or a beast. He fought the dog barehanded, beating it down to the floor.

With the pit bull handled, his next target was Sun Hai. Just as he bent down to retrieve the pistol, Sun Hai grabbed a fruit knife from a nearby table and drove it into Wen Shang’s shoulder, slicing through his suit.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Wen Shang slammed his knee into Sun Hai’s stomach, sending him stumbling backward. Before Sun Hai could steady himself, Wen Shang stepped in, grabbed him by the collar, and drove a punch into his left cheek, then another into his right. Fists hammered into his chest, stomach, arms, and thighs. Each blow was harder than the last. Wherever Mu Yuan had been injured, Wen Shang was determined to repay it tenfold.

Wen Shang pulled the knife out of his shoulder and slashed it across Sun Hai’s face. A blood-curdling scream rang out. Sun Hai’s right eye snapped shut, bright red blood streamed down his face, the sight chilling to the bone.

Suddenly, someone grabbed Wen Shang from behind, yanking him back with all their strength, trying to pull him away from Sun Hai.

“A-Shang, calm down!” Hua You shouted, his voice cracking from panic.

Wen Shang let go of the now-crippled Sun Hai lying on the floor and turned to shove Hua You aside. He bent down to pick up the pistol again. Hua You lunged for it, but Wen Shang caught him by the throat and slammed him against the wall.

Hua You’s face flushed red from lack of air. For the first time since the incident, Wen Shang got a good look at the surgical scar running down Hua You’s face. It was long, harsh, and sat at the most visible spot. His career might very well be over because of it. But so what? It wasn’t Mu Yuan’s fault. Why the hell should Sun Hai take it out on Mu Yuan?

Wen Shang pointed the gun at Sun Hai and said coldly to Hua You, “I’ll kill him first, then come for you.”

“No, please, I’m begging you!” Hua You was shaking his head over and over. “I’ll get on my knees if you want. I’ll do anything. Just don’t kill him. Please don’t take a life. I’m begging you!”

“Don’t take a life? Why don’t you ask that bastard what he did to Mu Yuan?” Wen Shang roared.

He was completely losing control. His grip on reality was unraveling fast. He had no intention of backing down. He was ready to throw his life away for revenge.

Just as he was about to pull the trigger, a voice began singing softly in his ear. It was a Cantonese opera tune, gentle yet haunting, like it was calling out to his soul. His fraying sanity was slowly, painfully being drawn back.

The song came from the TV in the living room. On screen, the two main characters stood onstage performing a classic piece Farewell, Swallows in Flight.

Thousands of miles apart, mountains between us
My tears like pearls, I hold them back in my eyes
I long to speak of our endless parting sorrow
But how can I, in such brief time
I fear hearts will turn cold, love will drown in waves
The past now feels like a dream
I only wish our vows remain etched in memory
Let not our messages fade
Alas, why was joy so fleeting
In the blink of an eye, fate tore us apart
I would never betray you, never turn your heart to ash
I know you held back tears to send me away
Such pain, such sorrow

At the critical moment, scenes of Mu Yuan dressed in costume singing opera on stage flashed rapidly through Wen Shang’s mind. His body suddenly trembled, and just like that, he snapped out of it. He had come dangerously close to making an irreversible mistake. At the crossroads where fate could have taken a dark turn, he managed to hit
the brakes just in time.

—

“Boss?”

Mu Yuan didn’t know how long he had been asleep. When he slowly opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was A Zhi’s face, lit with overwhelming joy.

“Boss, you’re awake! How do you feel? Are the wounds hurting badly? Should I go get the doctor?”

Mu Yuan shook his head and blinked. His entire body ached, but the first thing he asked wasn’t about his injuries. It was, “Where’s Wen Shang?”

A Zhi didn’t know where Wen Shang had gone, so he answered uncertainly, “Wen-ge was here keeping watch until just now. Maybe he was a bit tired and stepped out for some air.”

He helped Mu Yuan drink some water and asked if he was hungry or wanted to eat something. Mu Yuan said he just wanted to sleep a little longer, so A Zhi quietly left the room and joined a few brothers outside in the corridor to take turns keeping watch.

Mu Yuan closed his eyes again. As he lay there in a half-dreaming haze, he vaguely heard soft footsteps approaching the bed. When he opened his eyes once more, he saw Wen Shang standing there, looking utterly lost. His suit was torn and filthy, his shoulder soaked in blood.

Mu Yuan blinked in surprise, and softly called out, “Wifey…”

He repeated it again, “Wifey, what happened to you?”

Wen Shang’s lips parted slightly, then pressed shut again. He started to speak but stopped several times. Finally, in a hoarse voice, he said, “Baby, I messed up.”

“I did something really, really wrong…”

Mu Yuan reached out and gripped his hand tightly, silently listening as Wen Shang told him everything that had happened.

The hand holding Wen Shang’s clenched tighter, then tighter again. Mu Yuan felt like his heart might burst from his chest.

“Was anyone killed?” he asked nervously.

Wen Shang shook his head. His eyes had turned red without him realizing it. Tears pooled at the edges, threatening to fall. Mu Yuan had never seen such a distressed and fragile expression on his face.

Mu Yuan was in a lot of pain. His head hurt, his eyes hurt, his arms hurt, everything hurt. But what hurt the most was his heart. Even so, in front of Wen Shang, he still smiled brightly. He held Wen Shang’s hand and gave his palm a gentle squeeze.

“It’s a good thing you didn’t do anything foolish. I’m just glad… I don’t need you to get revenge for me. I only want you to be safe and unharmed.”

Wen Shang couldn’t get a single word out. He leaned over the bed, buried his face against Mu Yuan’s shoulder, and gently embraced him.

“Wifey, don’t cry.” Mu Yuan patted his trembling back and pressed a tender kiss to the top of his head. “Let me sing for you, okay?”

After thinking for a moment, Mu Yuan began to hum softly in Wen Shang’s ear, as if whispering sweet nothings. He sang a piece from Three Smiles of Destiny and even cheekily changed the lyrics just for his wifey.

A fleeting glimpse, and my heart stirred
Like spring flowers blooming with a smile
A radiant glow, your gaze so tender
One little smile, and you shine even brighter
A gentle grin, and deep affection grows
Today, Wen-ge smiles once again
I’m hopelessly lovestruck, longing bitterly
With just two faint smiles, I’m completely undone