TF01 48

Ying Ming laughed. He glanced at the man lying across the sofa and said, “I sleep on a single bed.”

“A single bed? How single are we talking?”

“If you lay on it alone, you’d feel cramped.”

The difference in their builds wasn’t so much about height but overall physique. Standing side by side, the contrast wasn’t too obvious, but if Ying Ming stood behind Shi Yi, he could practically be hidden entirely.

Shi Yi slowly sat up from the sofa, raised an eyebrow, and looked at Ying Ming. “No wonder you’re so scrawny. Did you get this way from self-torture?”

His wrists were ridiculously thin. Any bracelet he wore would probably dangle loosely.

Ying Ming merely raised an eyebrow, not wanting to continue this pressure-inducing topic. He gestured upstairs. “The guest room bed is bigger.”

Shi Yi chuckled. “You sleep on a single bed, but the guest room gets a big one? What kind of logic is that?”

The best space was reserved for guests? That didn’t seem like Ying Ming’s style. He wasn’t exactly the self-sacrificing type.

As expected, the latter simply shrugged. “A small bed is comfortable for me. A big bed is comfortable for guests. Just because a bed is bigger doesn’t mean it’s better. I sleep well, and that’s all that matters.”

The bigger the bed, the more empty the space felt.

Ying Ming already didn’t sleep well. He would rather have limited space than deal with the cold air creeping under the blankets at night.

Shi Yi didn’t quite agree with his reasoning but didn’t argue. He picked up the cup on the coffee table and took another sip of water. “Fine, guest room it is.”

Leading him upstairs, Ying Ming turned on the lights. Shi Yi raised an eyebrow. “Your guest room setup is ridiculously extravagant.” He leaned out to glance around. “Your bedroom is next door?”

“Mm.”

Ying Ming casually pushed open the door beside them. “But I spend most of my time downstairs.”

His room carried an unmistakable personal touch.

The atmosphere of an actor’s lifestyle filled every corner. Movie posters adorned the walls, and while things were scattered everywhere, it didn’t feel messy. As expected, a single bed was tucked against the wall. Shi Yi gave it a quick assessment and confirmed that there was no way he would fit on it.

If he lay completely still, maybe he would manage. But the moment he rolled over, he would end up on the floor.

“Do you sleep like a corpse, perfectly still?”

It was hard to imagine a grown man sleeping in such a tiny space.

Ying Ming had just lit a cigarette. He chuckled at the question. “Never really studied it. Maybe I should set up a DV camera next time to check.”

“But last time we shared a bed, you didn’t seem to move at all.”

To be precise, it was like there was no one beside him at all.

Shi Yi hadn’t brought it up, and Ying Ming had almost forgotten about that night entirely. He raised an eyebrow. “That’s because you slept like the dead.” Though in reality, he hadn’t actually slept much that night. He had pretty much just dozed on the sofa until morning.

When Ying Ming asked if he wanted to take a shower, Shi Yi declined outright, saying he would just do it at the office tomorrow. It was just a place to crash for the night, and he wasn’t picky.

Ying Ming watched as Shi Yi sprawled onto the bed, carelessly pulling the blanket over himself, barely covering one side. He couldn’t help but comment, “You’re probably the strangest high-ranking official’s son I’ve ever met.”

The man already lying down merely chuckled, not even bothering to open his eyes. “Right back at you.”

“Good night.”

“Good night.”

Ying Ming turned off the lights and the room immediately darkened. Only the moonlight outside filtered through the curtains, casting a soft white glow across the space.

He chuckled, then carefully closed the door.

---

The next morning, Shi Yi woke up to the enticing aroma of food.

Still half-asleep, he instinctively glanced around before remembering that he was at Ying Ming’s place.

His dress shirt had wrinkled a bit from sleeping in it, but he didn’t care. Getting up and opening the door, the scent he had faintly noticed earlier hit him full force. He frowned slightly, heading downstairs toward the kitchen. As expected, Ying Ming was making breakfast.

“Damn, that smells amazing. What is it?”

“Fried eggs.”

Ying Ming stepped aside so Shi Yi could see what was in the pan. The latter paused for a moment. “I haven’t had these in ages.”

Ever since milk and bread became the trendy breakfast choice, his family had stopped making them.

When he lived alone, he didn’t bother with breakfast at all. At most, Ou Yang would prepare something for him at the office, usually a set meal or some bread.

Ying Ming lifted the spatula in his hand. “To be honest, this is the only thing I know how to make.”

He had learned to make it as a kid because he loved it so much. Relying on his family to cook it for him every day wasn’t realistic, so he figured it was better to learn and eat it whenever he wanted.

After frying four eggs, he prepared some cereal. Once everything was ready, they carried the food to the table. As they sat down, Ying Ming casually added, “Young Master Shi, you’ll have to make do. Small households like mine can’t afford anything fancy.”

Shi Yi bit into his egg, frowning. “Damn, you’re starting with the jabs this early in the morning? Can’t you show some kindness?”

“That was a jab?” Ying Ming chuckled. “You’ve really led a sheltered life.”

People in Nancheng were naturally sharp-tongued. If they really let loose, they could curse for three hours straight without repeating themselves. At this point, it might as well be considered an intangible cultural heritage.

After exchanging a few more quips, they finished eating.

While Ying Ming didn’t mind cooking, he absolutely loathed washing dishes. After much internal struggle, he decided to just leave them on the table and ignore them.

He had to head to the TV station that morning. The production team of the movie he had filmed with Dong Xiao had asked him to stop by.

Shi Yi was heading to his company as well, so the two left together.

Shi Yi was still driving that same Jeep. When Ying Ming saw it, he couldn’t help but think back to the time they shared a car during a rally race. He chuckled, feeling that even though they hadn’t known each other for that long, they had already been through so much together.

In the past, he wouldn’t have let someone crash at his place this often.

Some people were just meant to cross paths.

Their cars were moving one after the other, with Ying Ming in front and Shi Yi following behind. The narrow road outside Ying Ming’s house was practically a one-way street. If two cars met head-on, one had to reverse to let the other pass, so they drove slowly.

Just as they were approaching the exit, a car suddenly cut across their path, blocking the way.

Ying Ming honked a few times, thinking the driver had only stopped temporarily. But after a long moment with no reaction, Shi Yi, unaware of what was happening, also honked twice from behind.

Still, the car in front didn’t budge.

Patience wearing thin, Ying Ming got out and knocked on the window. “Hey, could you move—”

Before he could finish, a club came swinging straight at him.

He instinctively stepped back, dodging the first strike but failing to avoid the next one. Pain flared across his shoulder like fire.

“Fuck!”

He tried to sidestep, but the back door of the car suddenly swung open, trapping him in the narrow space. He had nowhere to move.

Blows rained down chaotically. One struck the back of his neck, making him stumble as his vision darkened for a moment.

Shi Yi had been watching him from behind, thinking he was just negotiating. But as the seconds ticked by, something felt off.

He got out of his Jeep and finally saw what was happening.

His chest tightened like something had slammed into it.

He charged forward.

The attackers clearly hadn’t expected another person to join the fray. Before they could react, Shi Yi kicked the car’s rear door with full force. The person inside let out a scream as they were crushed between the door and the frame, unable to move.

The sudden opening gave Ying Ming just enough space to retreat. Shi Yi absorbed some of the blows, allowing him to get a clear look at the assailants.

Four of them.

One was down thanks to Shi Yi’s kick, leaving three. Noticing that he and Shi Yi were trying to step back, the remaining three blocked the exit.

From the outside, passersby could only see a car obstructing the road. At this early hour, few people were awake except for some elderly folks heading out for their morning exercises.

Fighting barehanded against people wielding weapons was a losing battle.

Shi Yi and Ying Ming tried to retreat toward the car, grabbing whatever they could along the way to hurl at their attackers. But this was just a temporary measure. Seeing the group closing in again, Ying Ming simply lunged at one of them, trying to snatch his club.

He wasn’t the type to just take a beating.

The attackers were clearly targeting Ying Ming. Shi Yi was more of an obstacle to them than a primary threat. Now that Ying Ming had engaged one of them directly, the other two immediately rushed at him as well.

Shi Yi grabbed the outermost guy by the collar and yanked him back. The man, caught off guard, was nearly dragged to the ground.

The fight split into two-on-one against Ying Ming and one-on-one for Shi Yi.

Both of them prided themselves on being in decent shape. They rarely got into brawls, but they never slacked off when it came to working out. Even the last time they fought at the bar, they had held their own just fine. But these guys weren’t ordinary thugs. Apart from the one who had taken Shi Yi’s surprise kick head-on, the rest were tough opponents.

Bit by bit, Shi Yi and Ying Ming were forced back.

Just as they neared the car, one of the attackers swung his club and smashed Ying Ming’s window.

The shattering glass sent a sharp chill through their nerves.

Shi Yi turned just in time to see Ying Ming being pinned against the hood, his head right beneath the broken window. The jagged shards looked like they were about to pierce into him.

His heart clenched.

He lunged forward to yank the guy off Ying Ming, only to be blindsided by a club slamming into his back.

“Fuck! You son of a bitch!”

No one could keep track of what was happening. Neither Shi Yi nor Ying Ming knew how many hits they had taken or thrown. Their bodies moved purely on instinct, getting hit, hitting back, grabbing anything they could to use as a weapon.

This was, without a doubt, the most brutal fight Shi Yi had ever been in.

And it was far from over.

The man Shi Yi had grabbed twisted his arm free and sent Shi Yi staggering back. Before he could regain his footing, someone grabbed him from behind and yanked his arms backward. His right arm smashed against the side mirror, sending a sharp jolt of pain through his entire body.

On the other side, Ying Ming took a direct kick to the stomach. His body curled inward from the impact before he was thrown backward.

Behind him was a thick cement pipe.

Shi Yi struggled to grab him in time, but he was barely steady himself. He managed to catch hold of Ying Ming, but the sudden pull threw off his balance. Ying Ming was saved from slamming into the pipe, but his momentum sent him crashing headfirst into the already cracked rear window of his car.

No one saw exactly how it happened.

The moment Ying Ming steadied himself, the sharp sound of shattering glass filled the air.

When he looked up, he saw half of Shi Yi’s face covered in blood.

The blood streamed down from his forehead, trailing past his half-closed right eye and dripping onto the ground.

For a moment, everyone froze, even the men attacking them.

Ying Ming ignored them completely. Half-supporting Shi Yi’s weight, he all but screamed his name. His voice was raw and frantic, but Shi Yi only swayed slightly, dazed from the impact. He looked lost for a second, as if struggling to stay conscious. When the world finally came back into focus, he registered the sheer panic on Ying Ming’s face and the hoarse, almost hysterical way he was yelling at him.

“You idiot! Why the hell did you take the hit for me?”

Shi Yi blinked. After a long pause, he finally spoke in a sluggish voice. “If your face gets hurt, how are you going to keep acting?”

Ying Ming’s throat closed up.

He clutched Shi Yi’s arm, trying to say something, but no sound came out.