TF01 64

None of their mutual friends knew anything about the strange situation between Shi Yi and Ying Ming.

Wang Yiqi had taken on a new film and was too busy to get away. Kou Jing had been caught up in the mess surrounding Weisa, and work had been heavy. After Wang Le left, the group had barely gathered at all.

So when things finally eased up a little, Kou Jing gave Shi Yi a call, wanting to ask everyone out for a get-together.

Normally, in the past, if Shi Yi had not reached out first, Kou Jing would never have called him.

The way these things worked, it was usually people like Young Master Shi who called the shots. Even if he initiated something, he was rarely the one leading the charge. But after everything that had happened recently, the dynamic between them seemed to have shifted a little. At least this time, when Kou Jing picked up the phone, he did not feel the slightest bit awkward.

When the call connected, the voice on the other end was low and brief.

“Hello.”

Just from that one word, Kou Jing could tell that Shi Yi seemed more grounded than before.

It was hard to describe. Something about him just felt different. The thought passed quickly though, and Kou Jing didn’t dwell on it. “Master Shi, been busy lately?”

His tone was as easygoing as ever. This was his line of work. Even if he had a thousand things on his mind, whatever came out of his mouth was always a mix of banter and sarcasm, rapid-fire and sharp.

Shi Yi recognized his voice and leaned back on the sofa. “Not too bad. You?”

“I’ve been running around a lot lately. These past few days are finally calmer. Haven’t heard from you guys in a while, figured it’s time to grab a drink.” When he said “you guys,” he clearly meant more than just Shi Yi. Shi Yi chose not to respond to that part and replied casually, “Sure. You set it up.”

“I’ll send you the time and place once it’s booked?”

“Okay.”

His tone stayed flat from beginning to end. Even after hanging up, his expression didn’t change.

The TV was still playing that same DVD it had gone through dozens of times. The dim blue light flickered across his face, leaving his features blurred and indistinct. Reflections from the screen glinted off his lenses, overlapping with the movie scenes and making everything look scattered.

He picked up the glass beside him and drank a couple sips of water, his attention never leaving the screen.

—

Since Kou Jing had no idea what had happened between Shi Yi and Ying Ming, it was only natural that he called everyone.

He had always been quick with things like this. Just a few calls and it was settled. Everyone happened to be available, and no one refused.

He picked the weekend and reserved a private room at one of Shi Yi’s preferred clubs.

Shi Yi had a meeting that afternoon and was the last to arrive.

When he opened the door, everyone who was supposed to be there, and even the ones who might not have been, were already inside. Kou Jing and Wang Yiqi were discussing something, and both of them looked up at the sound of the door.

Ying Ming happened to be sitting closest to the entrance.

He was smoking again. When his eyes met Shi Yi’s, he instinctively looked away.

“You’re finally here,” Kou Jing stood up to greet him. “Want to order anything to eat?”

Shi Yi was dressed quite formally today, wearing a full suit and tie.

He came in, tossed his overcoat aside, and loosened his tie. “Whatever. I’m good with anything.”

“Oh? Since when did you get so easygoing?”

Wang Yiqi immediately took a jab at him. Picking on Shi Yi’s habits had practically become second nature. Even though things were long patched up and they were back to hanging out together, he still had not dropped this habit. Shi Yi could not be bothered to respond. He just glanced up at him, unbuttoned his cuffs, and took a couple sips of cold beer.

Haozi laughed beside them. “When Ying Ming came in earlier, I said he probably went off and started doing drugs. The guy looked like he dropped two sizes. But now that I see you, I think maybe he was just off on vacation.”

Shi Yi had lost a lot of weight.

It was not just Haozi who noticed. Even Ou Yang had been asking if something was wrong, telling him that he should get checked out when he had the time.

So Shi Yi gave no particular reaction to what Haozi said. He raised his eyebrows a little and popped two peanuts into his mouth.

Wang Yiqi and Kou Jing finished ordering and called the server to place the order. The private room was mainly for karaoke. Earlier, since not everyone had arrived, the playlist had just been running. If Haozi came across a song he liked, he would hum along for a bit. Most of the time, the TV was just playing in the background.

Ying Ming had been sitting closer to the edge of the room. From the moment Shi Yi came in and exchanged a few words, he had not said a thing. He sat drinking and snacking, occasionally glancing up at the screen, carefully avoiding looking in Shi Yi’s direction.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. Ying Ming pulled it out and glanced at the screen. It was a text message.

Kou Jing raised an eyebrow. “Hey, did you change phones, Mingzi?”

He remembered the old one clearly. He had gone with Ying Ming to buy it. For someone of his age and profession, Ying Ming had always been remarkably indifferent about things like this. As long as something worked, he would use it. He was neither picky nor trendy. Normally, if it was not broken, he would never replace it.

So seeing him with a new phone, Kou Jing could not help being curious.

Ying Ming finished replying and set the phone down on the table. At Kou Jing’s question, he gave a small, flat smile. “The old one stopped working.”

“It broke?”

“Yeah.” Ying Ming looked at the TV. “I smashed it.” His tone was neutral, like the incident had nothing to do with him. Kou Jing and Wang Yiqi were both caught off guard. Just as they were about to ask, Ying Ming looked at the title of the next song, raised his eyebrows, and reached toward Haozi. “I know this one.”

He figured if he had nothing better to do, he might as well keep busy.

As soon as Ying Ming spoke, Shi Yi also looked up. He glanced at the song title. “I know it too.”

He said it naturally. No one around them found it strange. Haozi passed the mic to Ying Ming and casually handed the other to Shi Yi. “Last time I heard the two of you sing together, I kept replaying it in my head for over a month. This is a rare chance. Do it again.”

As soon as Shi Yi took the mic, Wang Yiqi glanced at him. “You even have all five tones?”

Singing had always felt a little out of place for someone like Shi Yi.

But he ignored the comment completely and focused on the lyrics, singing with full seriousness.

The song was called Because of Love.

He sang the male part. Naturally, that meant Ying Ming had to take the female part.

When Ying Ming first said he wanted to sing, he had not paid much attention to the song itself. He only thought the melody sounded familiar and mentioned it casually. It was not until he started singing that he realized just how awkward it was.

Shi Yi’s voice was even lower than the original key. His eyes never left the TV screen. As he followed the lyrics, he occasionally furrowed his brows.

It was called a duet, but the two of them never once looked at each other from beginning to end.

They only heard each other’s voices. As each line of lyrics appeared on the screen, it stirred up a frustrating, restless feeling in the chest.

Off to the side, Haozi and Kou Jing added fuel to the fire, gleefully egging them on. Every time they reached a harmonized part, they made deliberately suggestive comments. The way Ying Ming and Shi Yi got along had always had a strange undercurrent. Anyone watching could tell.

Wang Yiqi even shouted, “Come on. Are you two singing this just to piss me off?”

How had just a little time apart turned into singing Because of Love already?

Ying Ming and Shi Yi ignored every single word from the others. The two of them sang the song all the way through, fully invested, like it was a live performance.

When it ended, Ying Ming stood up and said, “I’m going to the bathroom.”

Just as he reached the door, he ran into a server who had come in with more items. The timing and position were a bit off, so the way they bumped into each other looked a little clumsy.

Once Wang Yiqi picked up the mic and started howling into it, Shi Yi left the room too, tossing out a quick excuse. It was obvious he had no intention of staying for the ear-splitting noise. He ignored Wang Yiqi’s shouted complaints and walked straight out the door.

He glanced around and spotted the restroom sign. He headed that way, took a few steps, and pushed the door open.

Ying Ming was washing his hands.

The restroom was empty. All the stalls were open. When Shi Yi walked in, Ying Ming did not even look up. The sound of running water echoed unnaturally loud in the space. Outside, all kinds of screaming and off-key singing mixed into something almost comically absurd.

Shi Yi walked over to him and only stopped once he was right beside him.

The other man was wearing a thin black V-neck sweater. When Shi Yi stepped in front of him, his eyes happened to fall right at the collar, where a faint glint of a silver chain was just barely visible.

He used to wear a jade pendant on a red cord.

Shi Yi narrowed his eyes the moment he saw the chain. At that exact moment, Ying Ming looked up. He said nothing, just stepped to the side, clearly intending to walk past.

But Shi Yi moved to block him.

The whole thing looked like a scene straight out of a movie where some thug corners an innocent woman.

Ying Ming frowned. Just as he was about to speak, Shi Yi shoved him back against the wall.

He did not even manage to make a sound.

Shi Yi kissed him like a beast in heat.

The air in the restroom grew heavier with their breathing. As Ying Ming struggled, his hand knocked into the sink beside them. A decorative potted plant tipped over into the basin and hit the faucet, sending water gushing out like a burst pipe.

Ying Ming had both hands tangled in Shi Yi’s hair. The deeper Shi Yi kissed him, the tighter he held on. What had started as an attempt to push him away had somehow turned into retaliation, an outlet for something volatile. His back was pressed hard against the rough decorative wall, the edge digging into his nape until it tingled. He could feel the grip on his neck, the full force Shi Yi was using to hold him there. His chest felt like it was about to explode, and still that kiss felt like it carried both of their lives in it.

They only barely pulled apart when they were both on the edge of suffocation. Shi Yi bit lightly on his lower lip.

“Why did you come today?”

Ying Ming instinctively tilted his head back. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Their breathing was still unsteady from that kiss. The aftermath of being teased into arousal left them both a little messy. Shi Yi’s thigh was pressed right against his lower body. Then, hearing that answer, Shi Yi pushed forward again.

“Then why did you smash your phone?”

They were still talking between kisses, lips never staying apart for long, like they were both addicted and incapable of letting go. Ying Ming frowned and shoved hard at Shi Yi’s shoulder, prying open a little space, then narrowed his eyes.

“Because I didn’t like the look of it.”

“You’re lying.”

The moment Shi Yi said those words, Ying Ming laughed.

That kind of childish line just did not suit someone like Shi Yi. Ying Ming leaned back a little, raised an eyebrow, and gave a short laugh.

“Who did I lie to?”

That was exactly the answer Shi Yi had been waiting for.

He braced both arms on the wall, staring straight into Ying Ming’s eyes.

“You lied to yourself.”

Why he smashed the phone. Why he came to the gathering. Why he wore the chain with the military tag. The answer was something both of them understood perfectly.

There was a look in their eyes that said it all. Mixed into it was something soft, impossible to dissolve, something that almost resembled pity and self-pity. Shi Yi and Ying Ming kissed slowly. Their foreheads rested together, and in their eyes, there was only each other.

“…Ying Ming… maybe you should just kill me…”

Shi Yi let out a low sound, the corner of his lips curling into a smile. The expression was so twisted it made Ying Ming frown and narrow his eyes. “If you want to die, don’t drag me into it. If I kill you, won’t your dad send people to burn down my little village in the mountains?”

His tone dripped with sarcasm. Ying Ming laughed too, but colder than Shi Yi. Neither of them was doing well. The closer they got, the more suffocating the feeling became. It clawed at the inside of the chest, sharp enough to hurt.

But Shi Yi was completely unmoved by his words.

He kept his forehead pressed against Ying Ming’s. Even when both of them started to feel the pain from it, he refused to pull away. His kisses lingered on Ying Ming’s nose, lips, ear. In a low, almost whispering voice, he murmured beside the man’s ear.

“You kill me, and then die with me.”

He bit down hard on Ying Ming’s neck. Shi Yi could hear the sharp inhale right next to his ear.

Ying Ming’s voice trembled slightly, the pain making it shake. “If I know I’ll have to follow you into the grave, why the hell would I go out of my way to do it?”

What, had he lost his mind?

He could see the dead end right in front of him and still insisted on running straight into it.

In the end, everything would burn together. Both destroyed.

Shi Yi slowly lifted his head from Ying Ming’s shoulder and looked him dead in the eyes. Then he smiled brightly. “Kill me, and I’ll be yours.”

The day Ying Ming danced on the pole in front of him, Shi Yi had thought he was being a brat who deserved a beating.

Now, when Shi Yi said that line while grinning at him, Ying Ming felt like the man standing in front of him was asking to die.

He grabbed Shi Yi by the collar, dragged him into the nearest stall and slammed him hard against the partition. “Shi Yi, fuck your whole family.”

There was nothing left in his eyes but that mess of emotions, completely out of control, pushed to the edge with nowhere else to go.

No time to hide. No way to escape.

His throat was raw. His eyes were red. Ying Ming yanked open Shi Yi’s belt, one hand locked around Shi Yi’s neck. Every word was squeezed out through clenched teeth, one syllable at a time.

“I. Fuck. Your. Whole. Family.”