--
Before dawn the next day, Yan Heqing set off to fish as usual.
At Tian Mountain Reservoir again.
The temperature had plummeted. No snow had fallen yet, but a thick layer of ice already covered the lake. When Yan Heqing arrived, people were already drilling holes in it.
Ice fishing was dangerous, but it was also more exciting and fun. There were actually more people than usual.
Yan Heqing had yet to buy an ice auger, so he stood quietly watching others choose their fishing spots on the ice, silently learning from them.
The old man arrived a little later today. Elderly people were sensitive to the cold, and though the coldest weather had yet to come, he was already fully bundled up.
He called Yan Heqing over to join him, found a fishing spot he was happy with, and directed Yan Heqing to pitch the tent and lay out the ground mat.
"With the mat in between, the chill from the ice can't get through. However warm the tent gets, it won't fog up the ice." The old man came over carrying a heater and said with a chuckle, "If you have enough liquefied gas, you can even fish at night."
The old man looked nostalgic. "Night fishing really has a flavor all its own. Everything's silent, and if it happens to snow, you can listen to it falling while you wait for a bite. You can't imagine how atmospheric it is."
Yan Heqing finished laying out the mat. The old man ducked inside with the heater and a small gas canister, fiddled with them, and turned the heater on.
The little tent soon warmed up, and feeling gradually returned to Yan Heqing's cold, numb fingertips. He did not sit down, but crouched to watch the old man bait his hook.
Today, the old man was using bloodworms as bait. About as thick as matchsticks, they had fairly tough skins that made them easy to thread onto a hook, glossy black heads, and dark red bodies. In the water, their color turned bright red, easily attracting prey.
The old man had added a few ingredients of his own. He told Yan Heqing quietly, "I mixed lard and osmanthus honey into the bait. Fish love it."
Yan Heqing carefully committed this to memory. To attract prey, he needed to add more ingredients.
The day soon passed. Though the old man wanted to fish into the night as he used to, his body could not take it, so he went home with his bucket empty.
Choosing the right spot was crucial for ice fishing. The spot the old man had chosen today was not very good, and he grumbled the whole way, saying he would come at three tomorrow morning to claim a spot.
The old man had a car. Yan Heqing helped him load his equipment, politely declined his offer of a ride, and walked to the subway station himself.
He was also carrying a plastic bag in his left hand, with a cleaned fish inside.
Today, he had caught his first crucian carp.
He took the subway back into the city. After leaving the station, he stopped at the little convenience store by the entrance to his residential complex and bought a block of tofu and a small handful of tender scallions. Tonight, Yan Heqing would make crucian carp soup.
The motion-sensor light in the old stairwell seemed to be broken. Yan Heqing climbed the stairs in the dark. He rounded the corner and was nearly home when, in the darkness ahead, a red dot flickered.
At that moment, the sensor light came back on.
Outside his door, Lu Muchi leaned against the wall with his long legs casually braced, an almost-burned-out cigarette between his slender fingers.
A pile of cigarette butts lay by Lu Muchi's feet. His black eyes, dark as deep pools, swept over Yan Heqing.
They had not seen each other for almost a month. He seemed to have grown prettier.
He slowly exhaled a smoke ring.
"Found you, little toy."
Chapter 8: 008
Yan Heqing was not surprised that Lu Muchi had tracked him down.
Nor had he intended to hide from Lu Muchi.
A dark gleam flowed deep within his light brown eyes under the dim light.
The plastic bags he carried bumped together, making a faint rustling sound.
Then Yan Heqing raised his eyes.
With a dozen or so steps between them, he calmly met Lu Muchi's appraising gaze and spoke evenly. "Have you found my younger brother?"
Lu Muchi had never expected that to be the first thing Yan Heqing asked.
He took one last drag of his cigarette. "Is that necessary?"
"Yes."
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Lu Muchi pulled the cigarette butt from his lips, dropped it on the floor, and ground it hard beneath the toe of his shoe. "You think you're actually in any position to set terms with me? If I wanted to, I could take you away right now and lock you up. No one would dare interfere."
Lu Muchi sneered coldly. "And no one would care about you, either. In your adoptive parents' eyes, you're worth less than a dog."
Yan Heqing remained utterly unruffled. Lu Muchi's insults were everywhere in the original novel.
In the original novel, on the night he signed the contract, Lu Muchi took him to a vacation villa.
[Lu Muchi leaned against the sofa, smoking languidly. The words that left his thin lips were colder than subzero temperatures.
"Strip."
The villa's front door was open, and the voices of the bodyguards and servants could faintly be heard.
Yan Heqing's face was deathly pale. He fought to contain his trembling and despair, holding on to the last of his dignity. "Somewhere else."
Lu Muchi raised an eyebrow slightly, drawing out his words. "You're setting terms with me?"
He scoffed. "Who the hell do you think you are!"
He abruptly flung his cigarette aside, rose, and strode toward Yan Heqing, tearing at his clothes without a care.
Through the open front door were the retreating backs of servants turning away in embarrassment.
"Crying?" Lu Muchi hooked a forefinger beneath his chin. Cruel and indifferent, he crushed Yan Heqing's dignity bit by bit. "Why pretend you're so pure? You're just something I paid a high price for. Once you get a taste for it, you'll be on your knees begging me to fuck you."
The next day, Lu Muchi tossed a sheet of paper onto his battered, disheveled body.
"Your withdrawal certificate. Starting today, you'll stay here and behave. You're not allowed to go anywhere."
...]
Yan Heqing's eyes were calm and untroubled.
Lu Muchi saw none of the expressions he wanted on Yan Heqing's face. Humiliation, hurt, distress... none of them.
Anger simmered in Lu Muchi's chest.
Was Yan Heqing unafraid of him, or did he look down on him?
Either possibility enraged Lu Muchi. "You-"
Yan Heqing spoke at the same time. "It seems you haven't found him."
"Then please leave. Until you find my younger brother, I have nothing to say to you."
Lu Muchi was thoroughly furious. Apparently, Yan Heqing still did not understand his situation.
"You-"
Meow.
A cat's cry interrupted him.
Yan Heqing suddenly turned around.
Lu Muchi's gaze shifted slightly. So he had been stalling for time to run away. His mood instantly lifted, and he charged down the stairs. "Go ahead and run..."
His voice cut off.
Lu Muchi stopped a few steps above Yan Heqing, staring at the landing around the corner in surprise.