TF01 73

Shi Yi opened the car door and looked at the man sleeping soundly against the seat. He stood there for a moment, weighing his options.

What he wanted to do would probably piss Ying Ming off. But not doing it… the urge was crawling under his skin.

Late at night, the air always felt damp. The chill was starting to creep in. Shi Yi frowned, and in the end, gave in to the voice inside him that refused to be quiet. He leaned down, slipped an arm under Ying Ming’s shoulders, then pulled hard.

From the side, it actually looked like a pretty nice scene.

Ying Ming was draped in a coat, head bowed slightly. Shi Yi’s strength wasn’t just for show. He struggled a bit, but he did manage to lift him. Just as he started to feel a flicker of triumph, Ying Ming jolted awake and drove an elbow straight into Shi Yi’s chest. Caught off guard, Shi Yi let go. The two of them stumbled apart, swearing as they went.

Ying Ming still hadn’t fully processed what was going on.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

Anyone would be scared shitless if they woke up mid-air. If he’d had a gun in his hand, Shi Yi would be dead by now.

“Fuck. You didn’t have to hit that hard.” Shi Yi clutched his chest and hissed through his teeth. After rubbing it for a while, he finally looked up. “I was just seeing if I could carry you. Why’d you freak out?”

“No shit!”

It took everything Ying Ming had not to start a fight right there in front of the house. He would’ve loved to see Young Master Shi laid out in his arms just once, carried like a princess, but after a quick assessment of the guy’s build, he reluctantly admitted it wasn’t going to happen.

He slammed the car door shut, walked into the house, and threw his coat onto the sofa.

Then he turned back to glare at Shi Yi.

“Take off your clothes.”

Trailing in behind, Shi Yi raised an eyebrow. “You’re not even gonna shower first?”

“I’d rather find something to scrub your brain. Got any suggestions?”

Down to just a tank top, Ying Ming frowned and rolled his shoulder. The movement was clearly a warm-up. Shi Yi had taken off his coat and was watching him swing his arms and legs when it finally dawned on him that something felt off.

“What are you doing?”

Ying Ming pulled his mouth into a crooked smile, but there was no amusement in his eyes.

“Didn’t you say last time you wanted to spar sometime?”

“Now?”

What kind of maniac wanted to fight in the middle of the night?

Shi Yi’s reaction only made the edge of Ying Ming’s smile turn colder. He grabbed him by the collar.

“You think I need to check the time just to beat your ass?”

If he didn’t teach this spoiled brat a lesson, who knew what kind of absurd idea he’d come up with next.

Even dulled slightly by alcohol, Ying Ming’s reflexes, sharpened by years of boxing still carried a brutal edge. Shi Yi was nearly knocked off balance by the sudden pull, only managing to stay upright by bracing against the sofa.

When he saw the look in Ying Ming’s eyes, vicious and serious, he finally stepped back to widen the distance between them.

“You’re actually serious?”

He barely finished the sentence before Ying Ming’s fist came flying.

There was no restraint in it. Not in his expression, not in the speed of his punch. If it landed, it was going to mess up Shi Yi’s face for sure. So Shi Yi dodged fast.

He had never gone through formal combat training, but he had always been naturally athletic. Even if he couldn’t outmatch Ying Ming, he could at least keep from getting beaten senseless. He avoided three consecutive punches without striking back. But when the fourth one skimmed across his cheek, something snapped.

“The fuck is wrong with you?”

Ying Ming didn’t answer. He was fully locked in.

Shi Yi’s defensive posture didn’t last long. Before the fifth punch came, he switched tactics and started throwing hits of his own. The warehouse space was big enough for them to move freely, and all that filled the air were the heavy thuds of fists landing, short grunts of pain, and the sound of both of them breathing hard.

The fight had started for no good reason. By the end of it, both of them were bruised and spent, and neither one had gained the upper hand.

By the time Shi Yi collapsed onto the floor, he was soaked in sweat. He didn’t even care if the floor was cold. Propping himself up on both hands, breath ragged, he looked over at Ying Ming and lashed out with a kick.

“You fucking lunatic!”

Ying Ming frowned. The exertion had pushed him to the edge. It almost felt like his limbs were about to give out. He shot Shi Yi a glare.

“Next time you pull something like that, I’ll tie you up and fuck you.”

Any man would lose it being carried like a princess. Shi Yi had only gotten away with it because they were both drunk. If they had been sober, with the kind of strength they both had, Young Master Shi wouldn’t be leaving the house for three days.

Shi Yi glared right back. He tried to come up with something sharp to throw back, but his brain, starved of oxygen from all the physical strain, was swimming. After struggling for a bit, all he could manage was a long exhale before collapsing back onto the floor. He didn’t even have the strength left to curse.

His glasses had fallen off at some point, and the shift in vision was enough to force his eyes closed.

It was a long time before Ying Ming managed to pull himself up. He stumbled over to retrieve Shi Yi’s glasses, then staggered toward him and tried to help him put them back on. But the moment his hand brushed Shi Yi’s face, he was suddenly yanked down.

Shi Yi rolled over and pinned him to the floor.

“Who the hell is Mao Yu?”

Ying Ming didn’t resist. He let his body go slack and lay there. His eyes narrowed lazily.

“I thought you were going to hold it in until morning.”

Shi Yi ignored the deflection and pressed again.

“Did he owe you money?”

That line from Wang Yiqi about taking the money and running suggested there was some financial history between them. But judging by Kou Jing and the others’ reactions, it was clearly more than that.

Shi Yi’s eyes sharpened.

“You said you were straight.”

Ying Ming frowned. “Jealous?”

First Wang Yiqi. Now Mao Yu. Shi Yi’s jealousy was clearly deeper than Ying Ming had expected.

Shi Yi was starting to lose patience with how Ying Ming kept dodging the question. He pressed down harder on Ying Ming’s shoulder.

“Answer me.”

“I told you before, this warehouse was originally meant to be a bar I was going to open with a friend. Things fell through, so I kept the place and moved in. That friend was Mao Yu.” Ying Ming’s tone was quiet and a little unsteady, probably from exhaustion.

Shi Yi leaned in and kissed him for a moment. Then he bit down lightly on his lip.

“So he said he’d open a bar with you, then ran off with the money?”

That was some real fucking bastard.

Shi Yi was starting to understand why Kou Jing and Wang Yiqi looked at Mao Yu with that kind of disgust.

He kissed Ying Ming again, slowly, almost distracted. His arm braced against the floor near Ying Ming’s head as he leaned in. The kisses came in brief intervals, broken only when he lowered his mouth and exhaled against Ying Ming’s ear.

Ying Ming made a quiet sound in response, but didn’t stop him. He tilted his head slightly, letting his thoughts drift back to those years. His voice softened.

“I met Mao Yu when things weren’t going well with my career. At first, he was just someone to drink and hang out with. But after a few incidents pulled us together, we got closer. He was into rock. I got to know Haozi and the others through him. Back then, I couldn’t find my footing as an actor, so I drifted into the music scene with them.”

He paused for a second, the corners of his mouth twitching faintly.

“I liked it, but it never gave me anything in return. Tried it for a while, but nothing ever came of it.” His tone carried a hint of self-mockery. When Shi Yi’s hand slid across his chest, Ying Ming frowned slightly.

Shi Yi leaned down and kissed his neck.

“So you think he pulled you out of a rough patch?”

“Not exactly…”

ing Ming grabbed Shi Yi’s hand and pushed it away.

“Sometimes, when you can’t find direction, your guard drops. We hadn’t known each other that long, but I was close to Mao Yu back then. The bar was his idea. I didn’t think too hard about it and just said yes.”

Looking back, if it had actually worked out, maybe he would’ve changed careers.

That stretch of time felt distant now. It had been chaotic and aimless. He didn’t go out of his way to forget it, but he had no interest in looking back.

Shi Yi glanced up at him. “Then what?”

“I didn’t know much about the process, so Mao Yu handled most of it. Other than checking in a few times during the renovation, I basically just paid for everything while he ran the show. Once the place was nearly finished, he came to me again, said he ran into something and needed money to deal with it. I didn’t think much of it and gave it to him.”

This time, Shi Yi frowned.

“After all that, he still asked for more? How much did you give him?”

“About two-thirds of my savings.”

That was on top of the money he’d already put into the bar. At the time, Ying Ming had pretty much thrown in everything he had.

It wasn’t some massive sum, but it was still enough to make people stare.

“People around me warned me not to hand over that much without thinking it through. I didn’t listen. A month later, I finally remembered to call him and ask if his problem was sorted out. That was when I realized I couldn’t get through to him anymore.”

“He ran?”

“Yeah. He ended the lease on his apartment and shut down the studio. I asked around, but everyone said they hadn’t seen him. I looked for two weeks. Not a single trace.”

At the time, Ying Ming really did feel like an idiot.

He had seen those characters on TV who got strung along for money and affection, clinging to fantasies until they were left with nothing. He had never thought he would end up like that. But the feeling had been hard to shake. If he hadn’t trusted Mao Yu, he never would have thrown that much money into a bar. And that was before the loan. In the end, the guy hadn’t even given him a phone call.

Thinking back to that period still made his chest tighten. He closed his eyes.

“That was probably the worst decision I’ve made in my life.”

Even once would have been too much.

Shi Yi stared at the expression on his face and felt something pressing hard in his chest. He reached down, pulled Ying Ming’s arm away from his face, and kissed him deeply. He didn’t stop until he had tasted everything. Tongue, teeth, every edge of his mouth. The two of them tangled together in silence. The heat between them rose slowly, until even the churn in his gut began to settle.

Shi Yi pressed a hand against Ying Ming’s forehead.

“I should’ve beaten the shit out of that bastard today.”

“Too late for that.”

Ying Ming said it casually, but he wasn’t really serious. Shi Yi, on the other hand, had something darker flash through his eyes. He lowered his head, bit down on Ying Ming’s throat, and tugged his tank top up inch by inch. His voice came out low and muffled.
“He’ll pay for it eventually. Everyone does.”

Shi Yi caught the tone in Ying Ming’s voice earlier. That alone was reason enough to want to beat the bastard bloody.

Ying Ming’s emotions should only ever flare for him.

Shi Yi unbuckled the belt and slid his hand in. His eyes locked on Ying Ming, hot with a fire that didn’t hold back.

Ying Ming belonged to him. Past, present, and future.

Only his.