LIAH 1. First Meeting

Song Shengyang was once again on a rampage in the bar. He splashed a glass of high-proof rum straight into the face of a muscle-bound gay guy who kept throwing himself at him, then followed it up with a punch that sent the man crashing to the floor.

His whole body recoiled in disgust. The hairs on his arms stood on end, and he wanted nothing more than to douse the places that had been touched with ten bottles of rubbing alcohol.

It was all that damned Tao Jinsong’s fault. She had said she would take him to meet girls, but the moment they entered the bar, she ran off somewhere to flirt with some handsome guy. He didn’t even catch a glimpse of a pretty girl and ended up getting felt up by a horny gay guy instead.

“Hey, where the hell are you?!” Song Shengyang shook out the shirt in his hand in revulsion, then couldn’t help but throw it in the trash. “Do you even know what just happened to me? I got groped! By a man!”

“Tao Jinsong, you’re fucking dead!”

His shirt was unbuttoned down four notches, revealing a large stretch of pale skin. His body was built, his chest perfectly defined, and a lock-shaped necklace hung down to his sternum. A little lower, the sharp lines of his abs were faintly visible beneath the fabric.

The street outside the bar was quiet in the early morning hours. Once the door shut behind him, all the noise inside was completely cut off. Unfortunately, on the other end of the phone, Tao Jinsong was still happily chatting up her latest handsome catch, not hearing a word of his wailing.

The call cut off. Song Shengyang was left in helpless misery. There was nothing he could do to fix his violated soul, unless, maybe, a beautiful woman appeared.

This night had started off terribly.

He was driving along, and as he approached a traffic light, he slowed his Lamborghini. The wind pouring through the convertible top had already scrambled his head, and paired with the chaos that had just unfolded at the bar, his head now throbbed like it was about to split open.

The road was empty. While waiting, Song Shengyang closed his eyes and rubbed at his brow. When the red light had just one second left, he stepped on the gas. But just as the car began to move forward, a white blur appeared on the crosswalk.

The brakes screamed. The sound tore through the air like a blade. His stomach dropped. The seatbelt snapped tight across his chest. His head slammed back into the seat, snapping his mind clear.

The headlights shone as bright as daylight. His palms broke into a sweat. He unbuckled his seatbelt, leaned forward, and reached for the door, peering out past the windshield.

There had been no one there. He had checked, and he was certain of it. His heart pounded against his chest, the pressure climbing into his throat. He forced his eyes open wide, needing to see clearly what that white blur actually was.

The night had already fucked him over. He wasn’t about to find out he’d run into a ghost too.

Pei Siyin sat on the ground with a heavy sigh. His knees and palms were scraped and bleeding a little. But that wasn’t the real problem. The real problem was that he had apparently just run a red light, and forced an extremely expensive car to stop.

And how could he tell the car was expensive? Because it didn’t have a roof.

His bag had spilled everywhere. Pei Siyin’s legs were wobbly as he tried to stand. He glanced toward the empty driver’s seat, then finally noticed a suspicious figure lurking behind the left headlight. It seemed to be the car’s owner.

“Sorry, I didn’t see the light. I ran the red. Hope I didn’t cause you any trouble?”

He tried to walk over, but his knee hurt too much, so he stayed where he was and raised his voice instead.

Song Shengyang held his breath. It wasn’t until someone spoke that he relaxed and stood up straight. Then he saw Pei Siyin standing in front of the car. It felt as if his soul had snapped back into place, and his eyes lit up all over again.

There was no deeper reason. He simply believed that heaven had heard his prayer and sent him a beauty.

No, this wasn’t a beauty. This was a goddess.

They stared at each other. Pei Siyin’s pale cheeks flushed pink. He blinked slowly. When he saw Song Shengyang walking toward him from beside the car, his breath faltered and his pain vanished.

Song Shengyang’s features were sharply defined. From Pei Siyin’s slightly upturned angle, he could trace the curve of his jaw, and when he lowered his head, the slope of his nose almost brushed his own.

“You okay? Didn’t scare you, did I?”

Pei Siyin met his gaze. His lashes looked like they brushed against Song Shengyang’s cheek. He was dazed for a moment before shaking his head.

“I’m fine. Your car didn’t touch me. I ran the light.”

Song Shengyang gave him a smile. The diamond studs in his ears caught the light. Pei Siyin had no doubt they were real.

He picked up Pei Siyin’s things from the ground, carefully returned them to the bag, and grinned. His bright orange hair gave him a wild air. Stretching out a hand, he said, “How could someone so pretty be in the wrong? I was the one not paying attention.”

“Come on. I’ll take you to the hospital.”

Pei Siyin didn’t say a word. He simply curled his hand around Song Shengyang’s arm.

The street was wide and empty, and the wind had begun to rise. The hem of his white dress brushed against Song Shengyang’s legs, and a faint fragrance drifted past his nose, light and floral like lavender.

He helped hold down the skirt, then bent to buckle the seatbelt. As he leaned in, his black hair brushed across Pei Siyin’s cheek. It was as if it had stroked straight across his heart. Song Shengyang swallowed hard.

Pei Siyin’s heartbeat thundered. In that moment of closeness, it felt like his ears might burst.

Song Shengyang thought he was afraid and quickly said, “Don’t worry. I’m not a bad guy.”

Pei Siyin turned his face away and coughed lightly. “I’m not scared. Thank you for taking me to the hospital.”

“Of course.” Song Shengyang fastened the seatbelt and cheerfully shut the car door. Walking around to the driver’s seat, he started humming under his breath.

He rubbed the spot where Pei Siyin had held onto him, like he had just struck gold.

Finally… Finally, a pretty woman had touched him tonight.