EM 37. Rival

In the evening, with the sun hanging low and casting a golden-red glow across the highway, the mountains stretched out on either side, rolling endlessly into the distance. Xiao Mingxuan drove while catching a movement out of the corner of his eye. He reminded, “You’ve been at the camp for two months now, right? Is your phone still got credit?”

Song Feng thought for a moment. “Should be.”

Xiao Mingxuan nodded and went back to focusing on the road. After a short wait, the call connected. Shao Xiujie’s calm voice came through, carrying a hint of surprise. “Xiao Feng?”

“Yeah, it’s me.” Song Feng leaned back in his seat, settled into a comfortable position, and smiled as they talked. “How have you been lately?”

“Not bad. You?”

“Same here. You asked me to call. What’s up? I might not be able to do mercenary work again for a while. There are two friends of mine still with the company. If you need anything, you can reach out to them.” He hesitated. “You met them when you were choosing recruits.”

Shao Xiujie responded, “I remember them. They get along well with you?”

“Yeah, they’re trained by me. Completely reliable.”

“I’ll talk to your company soon about bringing them over,” Shao Xiujie said, then after a pause asked, “Are you together with Xiao Cheng now?”

Song Feng glanced subconsciously at Xiao Mingxuan. The sunset poured golden light over his profile, tracing his sharp lines, with just a hint of the original Xiao Cheng’s features visible. He hadn’t really noticed before, but looking now, the fake never seemed as handsome as the original. He replied, “What about it?”

“Just asking, Xiao Feng. Actually, I…” Shao Xiujie’s voice cut off suddenly with a loud bang. Song Feng’s senses sharpened. “What happened?”

“Nothing, just some small incident,” Shao Xiujie’s tone remained calm, though the background became noisy. “You still going to turn your phone off later?”

“Shouldn’t before ten at night,” Song Feng said, listening carefully. “Everything okay on your side?”

Before Shao Xiujie could answer, another explosion rocked the line. Shao Xiujie said quickly, “I’ll call you later. That’s all for now.”

Song Feng stared at the disconnected call and muttered, “What the hell…”

Xiao Mingxuan kept driving. “Who was that?”

“Shao Xiujie.”

Xiao Mingxuan’s expression tightened briefly before he quickly masked it and asked casually, “Is he alright?”

“I don’t know. I heard explosions on their end, probably bombs,” Song Feng said, looking at him. “What do you think is going on?”

Xiao Mingxuan wanted to reply, Hope they blow up, but remembering that the man had saved them once, he held back and said, “He’s mixed up with gangs. Fighting and killing are just part of that life. Don’t worry.”

“But with his personality, it doesn’t seem like he’d get himself into something this serious,” Song Feng said.

Xiao Mingxuan stayed silent. He figured if he didn’t say more, Song Feng’s carefree nature would soon make him forget all about it.

Song Feng fell silent for a moment before scrolling through more messages. When he saw the sender’s name, Fu Shanming, he hesitated but still opened it. The messages were few. The first asked, “After you quit, who do I hang out with? You don’t seem like someone who gets scared. Where have you been?” He ignored that and kept scrolling. The next one read, “Are you with Xiao Cheng now? Tell him I miss him.”

He turned to Xiao Mingxuan. “Your little lover asked me to tell you he misses you.”

Xiao Mingxuan said nothing.

Bai Xuyao and Duan Qing perked up immediately, hanging on every word of their leader’s gossip. Wei Xiaoyan couldn’t believe it. “He has a lover outside?”

“Yes.” Song Feng leaned over the seat. “That guy is from Malaysia. His family is wealthy, he’s good-looking, and has a strong personality. Really intense. Last time I saw them, they were playing with whips and doing SM. His chest still has whip marks.”

Xiao Mingxuan reached out and turned Song Feng’s head back. “Shut up.”

Bai Xuyao and Duan Qing were stunned, their eyes fixed on the front seat. They wanted to ask how Song Feng knew all this, but with their leader sitting right there, they dared not speak up. Wei Xiaoyan looked even more incredulous. “Doesn’t he like you? Why would there be someone else?”

Bai Xuyao and Duan Qing stayed frozen, chills running through them. That revelation hit them like a bomb suddenly exploding inside the vehicle. They deeply regretted getting in this car. Now they felt they knew far too much.

Song Feng blinked. “Seems like it.”

Xiao Mingxuan glanced at the stiffened men in the rearview mirror and felt there was no point in hiding it. “Not ‘seems.’ It’s definite.”

Wei Xiaoyan leaned forward, holding onto the driver’s seat. “What’s the deal with that Malaysian?”

Xiao Mingxuan sighed. “You don’t really know Song Feng’s personality yet. Can you honestly trust anything he says?”

“That’s true,” Wei Xiaoyan said, slowly sitting back down. After a moment, he added, “But the boss always speaks with reason.”

“Exactly,” Song Feng snapped. “You dare say your little lover never whipped you? If you have the guts, strip now and let me check for wounds!”

Xiao Mingxuan remained calm. “Are you asking me to tell the whole story from start to finish? Including the Myanmar part?”

Song Feng immediately quieted down and curled up to keep scrolling through messages. Wei Xiaoyan saw the boss was caught and quieted down too.

Song Feng pulled up another message. The third said, I’ve hired a few maids with normal preferences. I sent their photos to your work email. When you come back, I’ll have them take care of you.

His eyes lit up and he closed the messages to log into the email. Tears welled as he looked at the naked beauties on the screen. “I’m going to Malaysia. I’m going to be Fu Shanming’s bodyguard.”

Xiao Mingxuan suddenly felt a headache coming on but held his temper. “Why?”

“Look,” Song Feng said, reaching to hand over the phone but suddenly remembered the girls and pulled it back tightly, shaking his head. “No, never mind.”

Xiao Mingxuan beckoned with a finger.

Song Feng turned and curled back up, continuing to admire the beauties.

Xiao Mingxuan thought, You’re not going anywhere anyway, and left him to it.

Wei Xiaoyan overheard everything and looked at Song Feng in surprise. “Fu Shanming? Wasn’t he the one who hired you? I remember you said he was that guy’s lover…”

He suddenly stared at Xiao Mingxuan. “Myanmar? You’re not… that person, are you?”

Xiao Mingxuan glanced at him through the rearview mirror and nodded. “You should have been there too.”

Wei Xiaoyan was shocked. “So it was you who fucked our boss that day! You got him into the hospital for days! And I was the one taking care of him.”

Xiao Mingxuan asked, “Were you always such a big mouth when you were a mercenary?”

Wei Xiaoyan looked at his boss’s cold glare and immediately grabbed Duan Qing beside him, shrinking behind him. “No way. It’s not a secret. Saying it won’t matter. Aow, boss, I was wrong. Don’t throw things! Don’t smash anything! I’m really sorry!”

Bai Xuyao and Duan Qing stiffened even more. No matter how calm they trained themselves to be, this felt like another bomb flying straight at the off-road vehicle. It was about to explode, charring the outside and cooking the inside, rumbling loudly as they rolled toward the city.

As before, the group first found a place to eat, then went to the same shop. The lobby manager had been waiting for them, respectfully leading them to a private room and calling over a group of beauties. Song Feng had just sat down when his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and went to answer. Xiao Mingxuan stood beside him and naturally saw the name “Shao Xiujie.” He immediately regretted letting Song Feng have his phone. It was basically handing him a tool to lure other men. Xiao Mingxuan sat on the sofa, occasionally glancing at the group, but mostly staring at the door, waiting for Song Feng to arrive.

Song Feng leaned against the wall in the hallway. “Hey, you okay just now?”

“I’m fine.”

Song Feng nodded. “What were you about to say to me?”

“You disappeared after leaving Fu Shanming,” Shao Xiujie said calmly. “I thought something happened to you, so I investigated a lot, including checking on Xiao Cheng.”

Song Feng was a little surprised. “Oh?”

“I found out Xiao Cheng doesn’t really exist. He’s actually Xiao Mingxuan. Their appearances differ, but if you look closely, their features only vary slightly,” Shao Xiujie explained calmly. “As for you, you’re probably the most extravagant mercenary I’ve ever hired, Second Young Master Song.”

Song Feng gave a dry laugh.

“I’m not bringing this up for any other reason than worrying you might be in danger,” Shao Xiujie said simply. “Your phone has been off, Xiao Mingxuan’s whereabouts are unknown, and you’ve resigned. Connecting your family backgrounds, I guessed you’re at the military camp.”

Song Feng blinked. His former boss really was clever.

Shao Xiujie didn’t seem concerned about getting an answer. “When do you think you’ll be out?”

Song Feng sighed. “Hard to say.”

“Then give me your address. I’ll send you a postcard. That shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“No problem,” Song Feng said. Every special forces team belonged to a military region, and China had only a handful of those. It wasn’t a secret. They talked for a while longer, then ended the call. As Song Feng turned to leave, he saw Xiao Mingxuan come out and looked surprised. “Not watching anymore?”

Xiao Mingxuan stood beside him. “They’re on alert now. Let them talk freely this time. Soon we’ll bring a few boys in. As long as they act natural, that’s enough.”

Song Feng blinked. “What about me?”

“You’ll have me with you.”

“…”

Xiao Mingxuan looked at him. “Did Shao Xiujie say anything else?”

“He’s found out our backgrounds. But he didn’t seem too worried. He just asked which military region I’m in and said he’ll send me a postcard.”

Xiao Mingxuan raised an eyebrow. “You told him?”

Song Feng looked innocent. “Yeah, what’s it matter?”

Xiao Mingxuan briefly stroked his head, thinking to himself that now was not the time to reveal everything. If Shao Xiujie started to covet him, it would cause trouble. He needed to secure Song Feng as soon as possible to prevent anyone else from coveting him.

Song Feng looked at him curiously. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

Song Feng nodded and glanced at the closed door. “So how are we going to screen people this time? By who can pick up girls? What a joke.”

“No,” Xiao Mingxuan said, willing to share the truth. “It’s about adaptability. We’ve been practicing disguise these past few days. After that, the screening begins.”

“Am I included?”

Xiao Mingxuan nodded. “You’ll pass easily. It’ll be a breeze for you.”

Song Feng shrugged and didn’t ask further. He went in with him. A few days later, he would fully understand just what that ‘breeze’ meant.

That day they were dropped into a strange city with no maps, only a few vague details. They had to figure out how to reach the target and obtain the marker. The first team was also involved in the mission, acting as enemies who could appear anywhere in the city. If they got caught by the first team, the mission would fail.

Everyone looked at the busy crowds, suddenly feeling their skin crawl. With so many people, how could they tell who belonged to the first team?

“The higher-ups say the first team has already seen our photos,” Bai Xuyao said, staring at his mission note. “But we’ve only seen a few of them. That’s really unfair.”

They looked around and quickly dispersed. Soon, only Song Feng and a few others remained.

“Why are you all staring at me like that? The orders say no teaming up,” Song Feng said, patting his pocket. He smiled as he pulled out his wallet and checked inside. He was unusually pleased. “How kind of them to at least give us some money.”

He smiled and waved, then entered a shopping mall. Duan Qing and Bai Xuyao looked at Wei Xiaoyan. Wei Xiaoyan said, “If you’re curious, follow me. You definitely won’t be disappointed.”

The two immediately moved ahead. Wei Xiaoyan looked around, then smiled and followed.