TF01 56

This was the second time Shi Yi had seen Ying Ming dance.

The first time had been a mess, something he still remembered vividly.

Ying Ming had probably been here often. From the moment he stepped onto the stage, the DJ had been hyping up the crowd, their screams echoing through the bar. When the music started, Shi Yi was shoved forward by the press of bodies until he was right up against the stage. If he hadn’t braced himself against the edge, he might have ended up sprawled over it.

Ying Ming rose from the lift beneath the stage, moving so slowly it almost seemed deliberate. It was slow because he was practically clinging to the pole as he ascended.

Shi Yi froze.

This was nothing like the last time Ying Ming had danced against him.

The lights were dim, flashing in erratic bursts that made everyone’s faces blur in the shadows. Shi Yi had no idea what song was playing until someone nearby shouted the title. It seemed to be I’m a Slave 4 U. The sultry female vocals, paired with the constantly shifting lights, cast Ying Ming in an entirely unfamiliar light. Aside from that sharp glint in his eyes that Shi Yi recognized, nothing else about him looked familiar.

Not the way his waist moved. Not the way his body followed every provocative motion with such ease.

When Ying Ming slowly pulled off his glasses and held them between his teeth, the screams around Shi Yi nearly burst his eardrums.

The entire time, Ying Ming kept his gaze fixed on him, half-smirking. Even standing on stage, it felt as if he was performing this dance for Shi Yi alone. Every movement, every expression, was directed straight at the man by the stage.

The last time Ying Ming danced, he had been messing around, trying to tease him. This time, he was seducing him.

There was no restraint. He flaunted his charm with reckless abandon.

His moves weren’t particularly skilled. Shi Yi had seen plenty of performances like this with his friends back in high school. During their wildest summer, they had even made a trip to the Russian border to see the real thing. Ying Ming was nowhere near that level.

But there was something about his dance that no one else could replicate.

His allure carried no hint of submission. Unlike the usual sensual and suggestive styles, his gaze and presence carried something else. It was a mix of provocation and seduction, laced with deep-seated arrogance and icy detachment. Instead of pushing others away, it only stoked the fire in those watching.

For a moment, Shi Yi almost lost his temper.

Because Ying Ming did it on purpose.

He moved slowly to the edge of the stage, ignoring everyone else. With his glasses held between his lips, he leaned in close to Shi Yi and smirked coldly.

Just as Shi Yi was about to react, Ying Ming swiftly retreated, vanishing into the darkness beyond the stage lights, leaving only the flickering shadow of his movements behind.

Even when the performance ended, he never stepped back into the light.

When the crowd finally dispersed, Shi Yi was still standing on the stage.

His right hand was clenched into a fist without him realizing it, and a thin layer of sweat covered his forehead.

It wasn’t excitement. It was guilt.

He knew all too well that a man’s body could easily surrender to the teasing touch of friction. The last time Ying Ming danced against him, Shi Yi had reacted because the other man had treated him like a human pole, pressing against him with blatant intent. As a fellow man, he understood all too well how to exploit someone’s weaknesses. If Ying Ming wanted to arouse him, it wouldn’t take much effort.

But this time, Shi Yi had reacted just from watching.

And worse still, he couldn’t suppress it as easily as before.

He stood there, stiff and unmoving, feeling like every gaze brushing over him carried a hint of mockery. He couldn’t tell if it was just in his head or if he had already failed to conceal it. He remained frozen in place until Ying Ming returned from backstage.

The man approaching him was drinking a beer.

His shirt, though nothing special, had been pulled open so far it looked like a deep V-neck. As he brushed past Shi Yi, he deliberately bumped into him, then grinned and asked, “So? How was it?”

For a moment, Shi Yi didn’t say a word.

By the time he finally suppressed the urge to curse, his voice was thick with desire that he couldn’t conceal.

“…Ying Ming… you did that on purpose.”

The man beside him nodded.

“I did.” He leaned in close, voice dripping with malice. “This is how people in our circle play.”

The lights swept past their heads. The music, blaring from the DJ booth, returned to its usual wild intensity. Ying Ming shook his head with a sigh.

“Distance isn’t something you can close just because you want to. It was never that simple.”

He lifted his gaze to Shi Yi.

“This kind of thing doesn’t suit you.”

People have their dark sides, just as appearances often mask the truth. Shi Yi thought he had seen through everything, believed he had been exposed to more than most, but he was still floating on the surface of this world. He might have a broader view than the average person, but it was never as deep as he imagined.

Ying Ming always felt that someone needed to make him see things clearly.

He just never thought that person would be himself.

Even now, he still didn’t think it should be him.

But after these past few days, he had come to terms with his relationship with Shi Yi and, along with that, accumulated a simmering frustration. Why did this privileged young master get to indulge in this absurd excuse of a friendship while he had to constantly remind himself not to cross the line? If he did, they would both be dragged into a disaster they could never recover from.

Especially when, every time he tried to create distance, Shi Yi would come right back, oblivious as ever, unaware of the weight behind his actions. He would take what he wanted, then turn away without a care, leaving Ying Ming alone to wrestle with all the tangled emotions.

Fuck…

Since when did the world hand out such an easy deal?

Tonight, Ying Ming had already made up his mind to vent his frustration. Even if there was no way things between them could ever be laid bare, at the very least, Shi Yi had to get a taste of what he was feeling. Being tempted day after day, forced to watch but never touch, if even saints would break under that, what right did he have to keep enduring it? He might owe Shi Yi something in this lifetime, but he refused to lose so badly that he had nothing left.

Ignoring the stiffness in Shi Yi’s expression, Ying Ming finished his beer, grabbed him by the arm, and dragged him back onto the stage. He picked up an electric guitar from backstage, plugged it in, strummed a few notes, then shoved the mic into Shi Yi’s hands while he was still in a daze.

“If you get the crowd hyped tonight, I’ll cover all the drinks!”

The room erupted into deafening cheers.

Shi Yi instinctively frowned. “What the fuck? Are you insane?”

Ying Ming leaned against his shoulder and grinned.

“I don’t have money.”

Shi Yi was convinced Ying Ming had lost his mind. This reckless attitude was nothing like the person he knew. But he couldn’t deny that seeing him like this stirred something inside him, something that had been caged by discipline and restraint for as long as he could remember. People who acted crazy usually did it for themselves, but maybe just this once, letting loose wasn’t such a bad idea.

Tonight, he would blame it on the alcohol.

With that thought, he threw caution to the wind. For the first time, he screamed rock songs into the mic for nearly an hour, his voice raw and wild. He didn’t sing often, but he wasn’t bad at it. By the end, his head was spinning, his voice hoarse from shouting over the blaring music. Everything else faded, leaving only the roar of his own voice tearing through the air.

The one thing that remained in his memory was Ying Ming standing beside him, holding his guitar with steady hands. Every now and then, their eyes met, and the fire in Ying Ming’s gaze pulled him in.

As the final note rang out, Shi Yi slumped against the side of the stage, watching the madness unfold in the crowd below.

In this place, staying calm would make you the crazy one.

Ying Ming set the guitar aside, grabbed Shi Yi, and the two of them slipped out the back door while the crowd was still caught up in the frenzy. Ying Ming was ahead, but when Shi Yi called his name twice and got no response, he frowned and took off after him.

It felt just like their rally races.

Pointless competitions where neither would back down until they were completely drained.

There was no finish line.

But human stamina had its limits.

By the time Ying Ming was nearly collapsing to his knees, he had no choice but to slow down. Shi Yi, who had been chasing full speed behind him, failed to stop in time. They crashed into each other and went tumbling to the ground, limbs tangled in a heap.

Shi Yi groaned, struggling to lift a hand and point at Ying Ming, who was sprawled on the ground beside him.

“Fuck… Ying Ming, you… are out of your goddamn mind.”

He could not believe he was almost thirty and rolling around in the middle of the street like a grade-schooler.

Who would believe that Shi Yi had sung his lungs out in a bar, then walked out without paying?

It was completely absurd.

Even as he cursed out loud and in his head, he could not suppress the grin spreading across his face. There was an overwhelming sense of freedom, like nothing else mattered. Not Dong Xiao, not Weisai, not Zhao Zicong, not his father, not the company, not his career, not his family. His expensive suit was a disaster, covered in dirt, dust, and leaves, but he could not bring himself to care.

A short distance away, Ying Ming lay flat on his back, staring up at the sky with a laugh. His heavy breathing was the only response he could muster.

The road was silent.

No one else was around.

Shi Yi slowly sat up, grinning as he reached out to slap Ying Ming on the shoulder. When the other man did not react, he leaned in closer, unwilling to be ignored.

“The hell is wrong with you today? You’ve been acting weird all night.”

Ying Ming lowered his gaze.

There was something strange about his smile, something hard to pin down. For a split second, the image of Ying Ming on stage, dancing around the pole, flashed through Shi Yi’s mind. Before he knew it, he was leaning in.

The moment their lips met, it was like a floodgate bursting open.

No warning.

Every emotion surged out all at once.

Shi Yi lost himself in the kiss, thought drowned by instinct. But just as he was about to sink in deeper, Ying Ming yanked him away, gripping his hair and forcing distance between them.

His eyes locked onto Shi Yi’s.

“Shi Yi, are you a fucking homo?”

Shi Yi froze.

The response shot out of his mouth before he could even think.

“Of course not!”

In that instant, something shifted in Ying Ming’s expression. His eyes darkened as he shoved Shi Yi to the ground, not caring how he landed. Gripping the other man’s chin, he crushed their mouths together once more.

Between rough, breathless kisses, he managed to sneer out a reply.

“Neither the fuck am I.”