EM 65. Starved for Love

Song Feng finished his first proper meal in days with great satisfaction. Afterward, the two men took him back to the Fu family estate. The first thing they did was toss him a change of clothes and tell him to get out of that damn dress. He went into the bathroom, took a quick shower, and came downstairs still toweling off his hair.

He looked at Fu Shanming. “You really don’t know who that guy is?”

“No idea,” Fu Shanming replied. “All I knew was that they were coming for you, so I did some digging into your past. Baby, you really are vicious. Got a hell of a personality. I like you more and more.”

Song Feng’s lips curled slightly. “Then what was that line supposed to mean? ‘The gates of hell aren’t shut tight.’ You told me to remember it.”

“I had a feeling you’d cross paths with them again,” Fu Shanming shrugged. “Wanted you to come find me. And here you are.”

Song Feng hurled the towel at his face and turned to leave. Fu Shanming caught his arm. “Don’t rush off. Since I said all that, of course I looked into a few things. Something I think you’ll be interested in.”

Song Feng raised an eyebrow. “Where is it?”

“In the study. I’ll bring it to you in a bit,” Fu Shanming said, then glanced toward the other man with obvious distaste. “It’s getting late. Why is Mr. Shao still here? Planning to move in?” He paused, then added playfully, “You’re welcome to stay. You’ll get a front-row seat to me and him rolling around together.”

Shao Xiujie stayed perfectly calm. “In that case, I’ll go pick a guest room.”

Fu Shanming was momentarily thrown off. He turned back to Song Feng. “We’re sharing a room.”

Song Feng took a breath. Well, it wasn’t like they hadn’t shared one before. Worst case, he’d sleep on the carpet again. He nodded. “Sure.”

Fu Shanming looked pleased. He grinned and headed upstairs. “I’ll shower and grab the files. Be quick, baby. I’ll be waiting.”

Song Feng twitched his lips. “Right.”

As Fu Shanming started walking off, Shao Xiujie suddenly called out, and for once his voice carried a trace of warmth. “Don’t use cold water.”

Fu Shanming didn’t reply, as if he hadn’t heard. His figure quickly vanished from sight.

Song Feng sat down on the sofa and looked at him in silence. “What exactly are you trying to do?”

Shao Xiujie sat beside him, so close they were nearly touching. He gazed at him quietly for a moment, then said, “Xiao Feng, I—”

Song Feng sighed. “I already know.”

Shao Xiujie’s chest clenched. He pulled Song Feng into a tight embrace. “It’s been so long. I missed you.”

Song Feng stiffened and tried to pulled away, but Shao Xiujie let go before he could. He paused, realizing it was probably because this was Fu Shanming’s territory and the man wouldn’t dare act rashly here. He raised an eyebrow and asked again, “What exactly are you trying to do?”

“I looked into his background. Fu Shanming grew up in an orphanage, no family, no friends. He was bullied from a young age, which is why he turned out moody, volatile. If anyone rubs him the wrong way, he’ll torture them to death. Eventually, everyone feared him and avoided him,” Shao Xiujie said. “To this day, no one’s ever been kind to him. No one’s cared for him. No one’s loved him. In short, that man is completely starved for love.”

“So now you’re planning to mess with him that way?”

“I’m angry.”

Song Feng blinked. “Huh?”

“The photos from last time made me furious,” Shao Xiujie said. “Especially when I heard he actually…”

Song Feng cut him off at once. “Nothing happened. He lied to you.”

Shao Xiujie paused, then said, “Doesn’t matter. Ever since I heard you were dead, I’ve hated him. I’ve been wanting to kill him for a long time. Now that things have gone this far, what’s one more step?” His calm eyes were filled with ice. “I want him to feel what I felt when I heard you were gone. I want him to wish he were dead.”

Song Feng fell silent. For Shao Xiujie to survive the kind of family he came from, he had to be someone who could endure anything, and someone extremely smart. If he decided to go after Fu Shanming, who knew how far he would go.

—

Back at the base, Boss Kang was deeply convinced that ever since a certain someone had left, his mercenary team had been out of sorts. No one would notice anything on the surface, but he just had that feeling. So this time, with his life potentially on the line, he moved cautiously and took no chances. In the end, the operation went off without a hitch.

Bai Xuyao blinked innocently at him. “Boss, your super-secret mission is done, right? And you swiped the route map too?”

“Mm. Already made a copy.”

Bai Xuyao looked even more angelic. “And since no one caught you, there’s no need to kill witnesses. And since we don’t have to kill anyone, we don’t have to blow up the base. If we’re not blowing up the base, we’re not stealing the weapons. So… can we leave now?”

Boss Kang saw them all staring at him in unison. He straightened his suit and nodded like a benevolent patriarch. “Yes, let’s go.”

Everyone immediately relaxed and swarmed around their shameless boss to say goodbye to the base’s people. When they saw him gazing longingly at the crates of weapons as he prepared to leave, they very nearly knocked him out and dragged him away.

Boss Kang ignored all the death glares behind him. He shook hands with the local leader and climbed into the jeep with the others, finally departing the Golden Crescent. He leaned back in the seat, relaxed and content. “Made another pile of cash. Not bad.”

After a moment of observation, the team reached a conclusion: as long as he made money, it didn’t matter how much. Their shameless boss would always be happy.

Xiao Mingxuan spent the entire ride suppressing the urge to go find Song Feng. Somehow, he managed to keep it together long enough to escort Boss Kang safely back to his own turf.

Once they returned, Boss Kang sat in his study and shamelessly waved them off. “I know you’ve got urgent business. I’ll have someone arrange transport for you. That’s all. Till we meet again.” What he meant, naturally, was that the paycheck wasn’t happening.

Everyone understood immediately. But at this point, all they could think about was finding Song Feng. No one had the energy to argue. One by one, they stepped forward, sincerely declaring that they never wanted to see him again, then turned and left.

Xiao Mingxuan stood in the courtyard, looking at the helicopter. In a low voice, he instructed Duan Qing to take the team back to Beijing. The camp had its rules. Now that their mission was complete, they were supposed to return. Desertion was not allowed. But he was different. When it came to Song Feng, he had always been selfish. There was no way he was going to obediently fall in line now. If something really happened to that man, staying alive wouldn’t mean much to him.

Wei Xiaoyan heard clearly and spoke up quietly. “I’m staying. Even if you order me to go back now, I’ll slip away halfway there. Makes no difference.”

Xiao Mingxuan knew how much he worried about Song Feng. Deep down, he was just like Song Feng, someone who had never cared much for rules. He gave a nod and agreed.

Duan Qing: “I’m staying too.”

Wei Xiaoyan shot him a look. “What for?”

Duan Qing met his eyes and asked instead, “What do you think?”

Wei Xiaoyan pursed his lips. Before he could respond, Bai Xuyao ran over. “Why are you all still standing around? Come on, let’s go find my bro!”

Xiao Mingxuan ordered firmly, “You’re going back.”

“Why?” Bai Xuyao froze, then imme asked, “If we leave, what about you? You going alone?” His voice was loud enough for everyone else to hear. One by one, they turned to look, their expressions clear—they were all planning to follow. Xiao Mingxuan’s brows furrowed. “Don’t be ridiculous. This isn’t an official mission.”

“We know it’s not,” one of them said, “but so what? We’ve been together this long. If one of us is in trouble, we can’t just stand by and do nothing. No point trying to talk us out of it. Even if you break our legs, we’ll crawl there if we have to.”

The others nodded in agreement, faces set with determination. Not one of them budged.

Xiao Mingxuan frowned even deeper. “We don’t even know who we’re up against. And after what happened last time, you should all understand—they’re not easy to deal with.”

“Relax. We’ve seen worse,” Bai Xuyao cut in, raising his fist with a grin. “Worst case, we die together! Ow—hey, what the hell?!”

A group of them tackled him to the ground and started beating him up. “Don’t jinx it, you damn crow.”

“I just meant—if not born the same year and month, then at least—ow! I was wrong! I’ll shut up, alright?!”

Only then did the group let him go. They all turned back to look at Xiao Mingxuan. His face was unreadable. “Go back. That’s an order.”

Bai Xuyao crouched on the ground, clutching his head, and muttered, “Fine, we’ll go. We’ll just slip away on the way back.”

The others nodded. “That’s settled then, Captain. We’re leaving.”

Xiao Mingxuan gave a helpless sigh. He should’ve known that with Song Feng in this team, words like “proper conduct” and “discipline” stopped applying. He finally relented. “Fine. We’re going to Malaysia.” If he was going to get written up back at base, might as well take the blame for all of them.

Bai Xuyao eagerly followed. “What for?”

“To find Fu Shanming.”

Everyone paused, that man’s name dredging up memories. Their faces all shifted. If not for Fu Shanming and the shameless boss’s scheme, they wouldn’t have been screwed over so badly last time. Bai Xuyao grimaced, full of resentment. “What are we going to him for?”

“Song Feng might be there.”

The group immediately recalled Song Feng’s connection to that man. In an instant, their gazes turned sympathetic. While their captain was losing sleep and starving from worry, Song Feng might be off having fun with someone else.

“…” Xiao Mingxuan frowned. “What the hell is that look for?”

They all looked away. “Nothing. We should get moving.”

Xiao Mingxuan hesitated. He wasn’t sure if that organization was still tracking them. If he were alone, keeping a low profile would have been easy, but bringing the others along made things more complicated. He went back inside and had a quick talk with Boss Kang, asking him to dispatch two more helicopters to draw the enemy’s attention and give them cover for departure. They didn’t land directly in Alor Setar. Instead, they touched down elsewhere, then transferred to an oil freighter, traveling through the Strait of Malacca before entering the port.

By now, it was close to midnight. He led the group through familiar streets to the Fu family estate. A short while later, they were ushered into the living room. Fu Shanming stood on the staircase in a robe, leaning lazily against the railing. He didn’t bother wasting time. “The person you’re looking for is upstairs. Probably asleep by now.”

Xiao Mingxuan finally let out a breath. The entire way here, he’d been worried that Song Feng might have already gotten the intel and left. If that were the case, tracking him down again would be far harder. He headed for the stairs, asking casually, “Which room?”

Fu Shanming glanced at him and licked his lips. “The same room I whipped you in that night. I know you remember it. We had so much fun, didn’t we?”

Xiao Mingxuan: “…”

The rest of the group blinked. Then their eyes lit up. Every one of them perked up, ears straining with focus.

Xiao Mingxuan stepped past him and headed straight to the second floor. Fu Shanming didn’t mind. He shifted his attention to the others below, rubbing his chin with amusement. “As for the rest of you…”

The group tensed up, silently holding his gaze. After a moment, Bai Xuyao raised a tentative hand. “I have a question.”

Fu Shanming looked at him.

Bai Xuyao blinked innocently. “So what exactly is the deal between the three of you?”

“No deal.”

Everyone stared at him. You think we’re going to believe that? Bai Xuyao added, “My bro said you were our captain’s little lover…”

Fu Shanming paused, then narrowed his eyes with a sly smile. “I like the sound of that.”

Bai Xuyao immediately regretted saying anything. He glanced at his senior for help. Wei Xiaoyan gave a slight shrug and muttered, “It’s fine. We all wanted to know the gossip anyway. You were just brave enough to ask.”

Bai Xuyao: “…”

Fu Shanming came down the stairs slowly. “Come. Tell me everything, in detail.”

Xiao Mingxuan walked quickly to the guest room from before, opened the door, and quietly closed it behind him. The room was dim, with only the faint outline of a figure curled in bed. His heart skipped a beat. He stepped forward in a hurry.

Song Feng hadn’t been sleeping well lately. Even the slightest sound would wake him. He sat up immediately and, seeing that the silhouette in the dark didn’t match Fu Shanming’s, narrowed his eyes. “Who is it?”

Xiao Mingxuan didn’t respond. He kept walking.

Song Feng stared at him, that sense of familiarity growing stronger. He quickly turned on the bedside lamp.

“It really is you. What are you doing here?”

Xiao Mingxuan still didn’t answer. He walked to the edge of the bed, sat down, yanked back the blanket, and pulled at the collar of Song Feng’s sleepwear. His eyes swept over him from head to toe. Once he confirmed there were no injuries, he finally exhaled slowly and stood up to enter the bathroom.

Song Feng was left unceremoniously on the bed. He blinked, pulled his clothes back together casually, then crept over to crouch by the bathroom door. His voice was a little guilty. “You finished the mission?”

“Yeah. Went smoothly. No injuries,” Xiao Mingxuan replied as he stripped off his clothes and stepped under the shower. “I thought I wouldn’t make it in time. Why didn’t you leave?”

“I wanted to,” Song Feng sighed, “but Fu Shanming got the better of me.”

Xiao Mingxuan turned to look at him. “What happened?”

“It’s a long story…”

“Then give me the short version.”

So Song Feng gave him the brief rundown. “I’m still waiting on news. Fu Shanming has strong connections in Thailand and Myanmar, and it’s easier to investigate through the black market.”

Xiao Mingxuan gave a quiet hum in response, finished showering quickly, and grabbed a towel to dry his hair. Song Feng stepped aside to let him through. “Did you come alone? Or did someone else tag along?”

“All of them came. They refused to go back. I couldn’t stop them.”

Song Feng immediately frowned, just about to speak when he was lifted off the ground and thrown onto the bed. A moment later, his lips were caught in a firm kiss, the warmth of Xiao Mingxuan’s tongue sliding in and twining tightly with his own.