Lipstick

Beneath the dripping raincoat, a pair of iron handcuffs swung under the light, glaringly bright.

"Don't move! You're under arrest. Put down what you're holding and come with me!"

A pitch-black gun barrel pointed at Zhao Ke. Beneath the raincoat, a man's face gradually came into view. Under his thick stubble, the corners of his mouth curled into a faint, inconspicuous smile.

"Boring! You're practically grown men already, and you're still fooling around."

Looking at the same old prank before him, Zhao Ke's mouth twitched. He rolled his eyes at the man and paid it no mind at all, but his expression soon darkened.

Two large, black footprints stood out glaringly against the bright floor. Zhao Ke's face went dark. He grabbed the skimmer beside him and hurled it at the man's head, his voice squeezed through clenched teeth as he cursed, "Get lost! My floor!"

The man had initially been joking, but when he saw the skimmer flying toward him, his pupils contracted sharply. He swiftly ducked, and a fierce gust of wind swept past his ear. With a bang, the skimmer smashed into the wall.

"Fuck, you were serious!"

When he looked back, the man sucked in a cold breath. If that had hit him in the head, it probably would have given him a concussion.

Zhao Ke's expression remained blank, but inwardly, he could not help breaking into a cold sweat. In his excitement, he had forgotten that he was now twice as strong as before.

But seeing that the man was still alive and kicking, he immediately relaxed. Without replying, he picked up a rag from beside the table and lightly tossed it over.

"There are slippers in the shoe cabinet on the left and a clothes rack on the right. Clean the floor."

"Am I even your real big brother?"

Looking at the rag in his hand, Lei Ke looked at Zhao Ke again, clutching his chest with a heartbroken expression.

"We're having bear paw tonight. If you want some, clean the floor." As Zhao Ke spoke, he raised the bear paw in his hand for Lei Ke to see.

When he saw the bear paw in Zhao Ke's hand, nearly as large as a washbasin, Lei Ke froze. Then he stamped his foot and cursed, "You little bastard, which zoo did you wreck this time? I'm telling you, keep this up and I really will send you to the station."

Lei Ke cursed with his mouth, but his hands moved quickly as he took off his raincoat and tossed aside his leather shoes.

His face looked as though it had been carved with a knife, sharp and well-defined. Especially his bright, piercing eyes—even with a smile in them, they still gave off a keen edge. Standing there, he was like a drawn bayonet: sharp, imposing, and righteous enough that people did not dare meet his gaze.

Yet this intimidating man was now obediently bent over the floor, rapidly wiping it clean. Then, with one swift step, he rushed to Zhao Ke's dining table, his eyes fixed on the pair of bear paws Zhao Ke was preparing.

"Top-grade!"

Lei Ke smacked his lips and could not help praising it. Clearly, he was an expert when it came to food as well.

Zhao Ke took out a new set of knives from the drawer and began peeling away the bear skin. He cut along the thick joints of the paw, and with a light stroke of the blade through the meat, red-and-white marbling was revealed beneath the pink flesh.

Skinning, deboning, removing tendons, stuffing—the movements flowed almost without pause. Lei Ke sat in a chair, took a cigarette from his pocket and put it to his lips, then picked up the gun he had taken out earlier and pulled the trigger.

Click!

A small flame sprayed from the muzzle. The gun was actually just a lighter.

"Hiss!"

Lei Ke took a satisfied drag, blew out a smoke ring, and kept his gaze fixed on Zhao Ke's long, shapely hands as they prepared the bear paws.

Compared to eating the food itself, he actually preferred enjoying the process—watching a delicacy come into being.

"I quit my job."

Zhao Ke's hands paused. He looked up at Lei Ke, but to Lei Ke's surprise, Zhao Ke merely nodded instead of reacting as fiercely as he had expected.

"Hey, I'm not joking."

"I know. It's for sister-in-law."

Lei Ke took a deep breath and nodded. Although Zhao Ke gave him a sum of money every month without fail, Pei Pei's treatment costs were getting higher and higher.

Even though Zhao Ke was willing to help him shoulder them, out of a man's pride, Lei Ke had already decided that he needed another job.

He took out a file folder from his pocket and placed it on the table. Seeing Zhao Ke's calm expression, Lei Ke gave a strange smile. "Aren't you going to ask what I'm planning to do?"

But Zhao Ke did not respond. His eyes remained on the wok. When he saw that the bear paws had developed a golden, crisp crust, he quickly scooped them out, placed a piece of honeycomb on each paw, and put them into the steamer.

Then he glanced back at the file folder by Lei Ke's hand, shook his head, and took a card from the cabinet before handing it to Lei Ke.

"Take this money. There should be around 1.6 million in it. The password is six sevens. Call me if you need anything."

Zhao Ke did not want to ask what Lei Ke was going to do. If Lei Ke wanted to tell him, he naturally would. If he did not, asking would be pointless.

But no matter what Lei Ke did, Zhao Ke would not stop him. They had grown up together in the orphanage, and Zhao Ke knew Lei Ke's temperament very well.

If Lei Ke wanted to be a tree, then even if he risked being struck by lightning, he would be the biggest, tallest tree possible. His pride was intense; aside from sister-in-law, no one could make him lower his head.

Lei Ke looked at the bank card Zhao Ke had handed him and did not stand on ceremony. He desperately needed money now, and his relationship with Zhao Ke was no different from that of real brothers. Politeness was not his style, so he could only keep this kindness in his heart.

After carefully observing that Zhao Ke seemed to be in a fairly good mood, Lei Ke hesitated for a while before quietly saying, "How about... you go to America and get checked out? Recently... it hasn't appeared, right?"

At the mention of it, even Lei Ke could not help feeling tense. He had seen with his own eyes how terrifying Zhao Ke became when his illness acted up. He became a completely different person. That change... was bizarre. It was not ordinary dissociative identity disorder, but a fundamental transformation in personality.

"Mm... it seems it hasn't."

Zhao Ke thought about it. It did seem that he had not suffered another episode recently. Even after being dragged into that horrifying space, his condition had not relapsed.

After receiving Zhao Ke's confirmation, Lei Ke quietly let out a long breath.

The two chatted on and off, and before long, a peculiar, rich aroma filled the entire cafeteria.

"It's done!"

Zhao Ke lifted the steamer lid. Seeing his masterpiece, the corners of his mouth rose. He opened the steamer, carefully brought out the dish, and placed it on the table before them.

"Fish Sheep Bear Paw!"

The honeycomb that had originally sat atop the bear paw had melted into a sauce, drizzling over the golden crispy skin. Zhao Ke picked up his chopsticks and gently poked it.

Crunch!

With a crisp sound, the outer skin gradually cracked apart, revealing the translucent, reddish meat beneath, thoroughly steamed through.

"I'm tasting it first!"

Seeing this, Lei Ke could not stop swallowing. Ignoring the heat, he scooped up a spoonful. The bear meat underneath was as tender as tofu, and he stuffed it straight into his mouth.

The moment the meat entered his mouth, Lei Ke's eyes widened. He practically wanted to swallow his own tongue.

Tender, soft, and richly fragrant—those were secondary. What mattered most was its freshness, as savory and fresh as pufferfish, paired with a texture like bean curd.

Holding a mouthful of it on the tongue gave one the illusion of being deeply **.

Even though he had watched the entire cooking process, Lei Ke still could not understand how Zhao Ke had achieved such a result.

Of course, he would not ask about the secret. A long time ago, he had tried imitating Zhao Ke's cooking methods, and the result... Pei Pei had nearly beaten him to death. Some neighbors had even called the police, suspecting that he was boiling shit.

Not only had he failed to make the dish, he had been forced to stay in a hotel for several days until the stench finally faded. Apparently, the families living in the same building had nearly cursed him to death during those days.

After that profound lesson, Lei Ke no longer tried to imitate Zhao Ke's cooking. Being able to occasionally come by for a good meal already satisfied him.

Zhao Ke tasted a few bites. Not bad. After all, it was top-grade bear paw. Such ingredients did exist in reality, but the key was that he had no way of getting them.

This bear paw should have been enough for four people, but Zhao Ke had been through so much in that horrifying space that he was truly hungry. With steamed buns, he wolfed the food down.

Naturally, Lei Ke did not stand on ceremony with Zhao Ke either. As mentioned earlier, ingredients like these were simply too rare. Even ordinary wealthy people would have great difficulty getting their hands on them.

As for ordinary people, they would probably only ever see pictures of them online in their entire lives, with no chance to come into contact with them. Not to mention, top-grade ingredients prepared by a top-grade chef were not a delicacy that just anyone had the chance to enjoy.

The two devoured the meal. In the end, Zhao Ke cooked a portion of noodles and mixed them into the sauce. Only after their bellies were round and full did they recline contentedly in their chairs.

"Here!"

Lei Ke took out a cigarette and handed it to Zhao Ke. Zhao Ke accepted it but did not light it. He merely held it beneath his nose and took a few light sniffs before casually setting it on the table.

After all, he needed to maintain his sharp sense of smell and taste. Smoking would not make him lose his sense of taste, but it would dull his sensitivity to flavors.

Lei Ke did not have as many concerns as Zhao Ke. He sprawled carelessly in his chair, lit a cigarette, and took several deep drags. Then he checked the time and stood up to leave.

Before leaving, Lei Ke suddenly turned back to look at the box on Zhao Ke's table, raising his brows. "You wouldn't be planning to..."

"What?"

Zhao Ke did not understand what Lei Ke meant.

Lei Ke pointed at the wooden box on Zhao Ke's table. "That urn is..."

Zhao Ke froze upon hearing that. He turned to look at the sandalwood box on the table, and his mouth twitched. After Lei Ke said it, Zhao Ke realized it too. This rectangular box really did look like an urn.

Immediately, Zhao Ke snapped irritably, "It's for storing trash!"

"Oh!"

With Zhao Ke saying that, Lei Ke was relieved. Based on what he knew of Zhao Ke, if that box were for Zhao Ke himself, Zhao Ke would never call it a trash container.

After watching Lei Ke leave, Zhao Ke looked back at the clock. It was already six in the morning. He went upstairs to the attic and opened his bedroom door, where a coffin sat inside his room.

Zhao Ke pulled open the coffin and lay down inside. Perhaps because he was too tired, he did not even pull the lid shut. Before long, he fell asleep.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock..."

In the dim room, the clock hands ticked onward.

"Buzz..."

At that moment, a slender finger gently pulled open the drawer beneath the dressing table. Zhao Ke had somehow climbed out of the coffin. He looked at the time on the clock.

Seeing that thin face in the mirror, he opened his mouth as though quietly muttering something, but no sound came out. He looked up at his reflection, and suddenly, a strange smile appeared on Zhao Ke's face. He casually took a lipstick from the drawer and applied it to his lips.