Since he had promised Fu Yanli, Jiang Xun stayed where he was, still crouching beside the large pillar outside the club.
The night was cold. Even the gusts of chilly wind failed to clear his muddled head, leaving his thoughts tangled up in the scene he had just witnessed and the fact that Fu Yanli was being cheated on.
Passersby couldn't help giving him a second look.
When Jiang Xun got tired of crouching, he braced himself against the pillar and stood up. Bored out of his mind, he scuffed his toes against the ground and gently knocked his forehead against the pillar again and again.
The club's receptionist craned her neck to look outside as she munched on sunflower seeds, thinking, Is there something wrong with that cute guy out there?
A young man in the staff uniform of a shirt and vest walked past carrying drinks. The receptionist immediately shifted her attention to him, her eyes sparkling.
"Little Bai, how come I didn't see you come in for work?"
The receptionist was a young woman fresh out of school who loved celebrities and handsome men.
The new part-timer was tall and handsome, and apparently only eighteen. He was just a little cold and didn't talk much.
With sharply defined features and a neat buzz cut, he looked cool and untamed.
A younger guy with a wild streak. Her ideal type.
"You were dozing off," Bai Lian replied flatly.
The receptionist gave an awkward smile. Seeing that Bai Lian was about to leave, she hurried to find another topic.
"Look, there's a cute guy outside banging his head against the pillar. Maybe he's drunk himself stupid."
Bai Lian had no interest in what went on around him. At her words, he merely lifted his eyelids and glanced outside before continuing on with the drinks.
After barely two steps, he stopped and looked toward the entrance again.
"Isn't that hilarious? I have to get a video..."
The receptionist had just opened her phone when she saw the handsome part-timer set his tray aside and stride outside on his long legs.
She froze. Did they know each other?
A cold wind blew outside, but Bai Lian didn't seem to feel it despite wearing only a shirt and vest. He walked straight over to Jiang Xun.
As Jiang Xun moved to knock his forehead against the hard pillar again, Bai Lian quickly reached out, slipping his palm between Jiang Xun's forehead and the pillar.
Jiang Xun wasn't using much force. When the cold, hard pillar suddenly became warm and dry, he raised his head in confusion and stared blankly at the young man who had appeared before him, his unfocused eyes blinking slowly.
"Little Bitter Gourd... what are you doing here?"
It was the first time Bai Lian had heard himself called Little Bitter Gourd, but he didn't dwell on it.
He withdrew his hand and looked at Jiang Xun's forehead. Even those gentle knocks against the pillar had left a red patch.
He caught the faint scent of alcohol on him and took in his flushed cheeks, the corners of his eyes that looked lightly brushed with rouge, and his slightly hazy, glistening gaze.
Jiang Xun rubbed his forehead and leaned back against the pillar, drawing out his words. "Little Bitter Gourd, I asked you a question..."
Bai Lian looked at his bright red ears, unsure whether it was from the alcohol or the cold, and finally spoke. "Are you an idiot?"
Jiang Xun frowned unhappily. "You're insulting me."
Bai Lian didn't ask why he was drunk and knocking his head against a pillar all alone. He merely said expressionlessly, "It's cold out here. Come inside first."
"No. I promised Fu Yanli I'd wait right here for him."
Bai Lian didn't bother wondering who Fu Yanli was, though the name sounded vaguely familiar. "Wait inside."
He took Jiang Xun by the wrist and tried to pull him inside.
Jiang Xun pushed his hand away, wrapped both arms around the large pillar, and shook his head solemnly in refusal.
Bai Lian: "..."
Jiang Xun let go of the pillar and studied the young man with the deep-set, stern features, adopting the air of an elder lecturing a junior.
"Why aren't you focusing on school? What are you doing here, dressed like this..."
He looked Bai Lian up and down, his expression odd. "Don't tell me you're working here as a drinking companion?"
Bai Lian pinched the bridge of his nose. "Come inside first. You'll catch a cold."
Just then, a black Bentley approached and stopped in the temporary parking area by the road.
Jiang Xun looked up, his expression instantly becoming indescribable. He muttered, "Fu Yanli's here."
He sighed softly. This was going to be tricky.
Following Jiang Xun's gaze, Bai Lian noticed the memorable last digits on the license plate.
It was the same car that had picked Jiang Xun up outside A University last time.
A moment later, the driver's door opened. A tall man stepped out, dressed in an expensive, impeccably tailored suit and overcoat. He looked their way and started toward them.
Before long, he reached the two of them.
Bai Lian met Fu Yanli's gaze. An invisible pressure seeped into his pores, as pervasive as air.
Fu Yanli's gaze lingered on Bai Lian for only a moment. He gave him a perfunctory, cool nod, then turned his full attention to Jiang Xun beside him.
"Uncle, you..." Jiang Xun looked at Fu Yanli with an exceptionally complicated expression. He hesitated, then silently swallowed the words "being cheated on."
Fu Yanli didn't understand what he meant, nor did he ask. "Come back with me first."
Jiang Xun nodded sheepishly. "Oh..."
He turned to Bai Lian again and patted his lean but broad shoulder, speaking earnestly. "Little Bitter Gourd, go back and focus on school. Do you hear me?"
Then he rummaged through his trouser and jacket pockets and pulled out the hundred-odd yuan he had left. Taking Bai Lian's wrist, he stuffed all the money into his hand. "Take it. Stop coming out here to drink with customers. Be good from now on."
Bai Lian: "..."
"I'm leaving. You should head back early too."
Jiang Xun walked toward the parked car, waving at Bai Lian without turning around.
He was still swaying slightly.
Fu Yanli followed behind him.
Bai Lian glanced at the crumpled bills in his hand. His face tightened a little, and his unreadable gaze followed their retreating figures.
Jiang Xun lost his footing as he went down the steps, his body tilting sideways.
The man surnamed Fu promptly slipped an arm around his waist and drew him into his embrace.
Even after Jiang Xun regained his balance, the man didn't let go. He kept his arm around him all the way to the passenger side and opened the door.
The black Bentley, a symbol of money and status, gradually disappeared into the night.
Bai Lian withdrew his gaze and silently repeated the name Fu Yanli.
His eyes narrowed slightly. The head of the nationally renowned Zhongyu Group was named Fu Yanli.
Bai Lian neatly stacked the loose bills in his hand one by one, tucked them into his pocket, and returned to the club.
He still had work to do.
Meanwhile, inside the car.
Jiang Xun sat in the passenger seat, leaning against the seat back.
The alcohol had muddled his senses, but he still remembered to sit properly, with his legs together and his hands resting on his thighs.
His head tilted toward the window, his eyelids drooping lazily, though every so often he stole a glance at the man in the driver's seat.
Fu Yanli stopped at a red light at an intersection and turned his head, catching Jiang Xun's gaze.
There was something subtle about it, even a hint of pity and sympathy.
Unable to guess what the boy was thinking, Fu Yanli studied the rouge-tinted corners of his eyes and his misty, glistening puppy-dog gaze.
"Jiang Xun, what do you want to say?"
Jiang Xun touched his left ear, the one closer to Fu Yanli. "Huh? I can't hear you."
Fu Yanli watched the gesture. His eyes, as deep and still as a lake beside an ancient mountain temple, reflected the person before him, his emotions unreadable.
After a moment, Fu Yanli leaned closer, studying the flushed, youthful face and the long, thick lashes that fluttered faintly.
His thin lips parted as he repeated, "What do you want to tell me?"
This time, Jiang Xun heard him clearly.
"Nothing..." He flashed Fu Yanli a toothy smile, then patted his dizzy head and frowned, muttering, "Ugh, I feel awful... my brain's shriveling up. I don't know anything."
Fu Yanli pressed his fingers to his temple. His usual cool aloofness gave way to a trace of helplessness.
The light turned green. Fu Yanli settled back into his seat and continued driving.
He drove slowly, the car moving along the nighttime streets at an unhurried pace.
Jiang Xun closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep, but couldn't resist secretly opening them to look at Fu Yanli.
He looked at the hand resting on the steering wheel, his striking features, the perfect contours of his profile, and that very sexy-looking Adam's apple.
He couldn't understand why Ye Jing would pass up a breathtaking man like Fu Yanli and find another man behind his back instead.
Why on earth would she do that?
Could it be... Jiang Xun narrowed his eyes slightly. Does he have a secret medical problem?
Fu Yanli keenly sensed something. He glanced over out of the corner of his eye and saw Jiang Xun covering his face, red from the tips of his ears down to his neck.
He looked away without saying anything, his Adam's apple bobbing silently.
Just then, Jiang Xun's phone sounded several times in quick succession.
He lowered his hands, fumbled for his phone, and unlocked it. The screen was still on his photo gallery, displaying the pictures he had secretly taken earlier.
Jiang Xun's heart lurched. He quickly shielded the screen with his hand and exited the gallery.
He stole a sidelong glance at Fu Yanli, who was driving with his eyes straight ahead and an entirely normal expression.
Relieved, he opened WeChat to read the messages Chu Xingye had sent.
-Little Black Egg
-Did my uncle go pick you up?
-You've really outdone yourself.
After one glance, Jiang Xun turned off the screen, too lazy to reply.
He was still mulling over Fu Yanli and Ye Jing's situation. He had no attention to spare for Chu Xingye.
As he kept turning it over in his mind, Jiang Xun's head tilted to one side, and he drifted off without realizing it. His phone slipped down beside him.
The club wasn't far from the apartment. It had taken Fu Yanli only ten minutes or so to drive there, but the return trip took over twenty.
At eleven that night, the car slowly came to a stop in the apartment building's underground parking garage.
Jiang Xun was still asleep.
Fu Yanli took off his overcoat and draped it over Jiang Xun without waking him.
Then he bent down to retrieve the phone that had fallen onto the floor.
Just then, another message from Chu Xingye came through.
-I'm asking you a question.
-Stop playing dead.