The motion-sensor light went out. Mottled fragments of streetlight filtered through the openwork stairwell window, scattering over the young man's brows and eyes with a gentleness he had never seen before.
Yan Heqing had not run. He crouched quietly, two very thin little stray cats at his feet.
Yan Heqing carefully took half a cleaned fish out of the bag and held it in his palm to feed them.
The two kittens must have gone hungry for a long time. Both ate ravenously.
Something stirred faintly in Lu Muchi's chest.
Lin Fengzhi loved cats too. He kept three, and they were all his treasures.
Was this the unspoken understanding between blood brothers?
Lu Muchi's gaze grew increasingly complicated. He reminded Yan Heqing coldly, "Raw fish that hasn't been sterilized has parasites. Do you even know how to keep cats?"
Yan Heqing did not look up, focused on waiting for the little strays to eat. "As long as they stay alive."
Lu Muchi frowned. "What..."
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the filthy wall. Most of its surface had peeled away, leaving large, patchy stretches plastered with all kinds of small advertisements.
This place was in even worse condition than the Yan home he had visited last time.
Run-down, old, impoverished.
For the first time, he clearly realized that Yan Heqing was very poor.
Yan Heqing could not provide imported canned food, airfreighted goat's milk for pets, or sterilized raw meat. One raw fish was everything he could offer.
Yan Heqing was no different from those two little strays. Having food and staying alive was enough. Whether it was sterile meant nothing.
Lu Muchi fell silent.
He looked Yan Heqing over again. Compared with last time, Yan He
qing was dressed
a little more warmly, but his clothes still visibly hung off his body.
For a grown man over six feet tall to be as thin as Yan Heqing, ordinary brands would not have a size that fit. His clothes would have to be custom-made.
All of Lin Fengzhi's clothes were custom-made. His skin was delicate and sensitive, requiring the softest, most skin-friendly fabrics.
The motion-sensor light came on again, and Lu Muchi got a clear look at Yan Heqing's hands. They were red all over.
It was not bloody water from the fish. The cold had turned them red.
An indescribable feeling suddenly rose in Lu Muchi.
For the first time in a long while, he thought of that woman.
It had been winter then too. The woman had built him a big snowman. Both her hands were red from the cold, but she had still gone excitedly inside to call him.
But when they reached the courtyard, a servant was pouring water from a kettle over the snowman.
His grandfather leaned on his cane, his face expressionless. "The Lu family's eldest grandson has no need for cheap gifts."
The woman stood there at a loss, timid and hurt.
He remembered it clearly. That woman had been just as poor as Yan Heqing.
She would occasionally mention her childhood, when she had been so poor she had nothing to eat. Once, she had been so hungry in the middle of the night that she had run to someone else's field to steal sweet potatoes. Before she could do anything, a dog spotted her and chased her a long way. She still ended up getting badly bitten.
Lu Muchi had seen that wound, on the little finger of the woman's left hand, a mark that even money could not erase.
That was why the woman was not allowed to attend any public occasions.
Her scar was the brand of the poor.
The Yan Heqing before him gradually began to overlap with that woman.
Lu Muchi's temper turned fouler than ever before. He snarled, "If you're broke, quit fucking acting so high and mighty. I'll give you one more chance. Five million a year, more money than you'll ever earn in your life!"
Yan Heqing remained unmoved, his voice cool. "I can earn my own money. I only have one condition. Find my younger brother."
Lu Muchi clenched his fists so hard his knuckles cracked.
Right now, he could drag Yan Heqing to any hotel, or to that shabby room of less than twenty square meters Yan Heqing rented, and just fuck him.
That had, in fact, been his only reason for coming here today.
Yet at this moment, he had lost the strength to take a step.
The stairwell was utterly quiet except for the sound of the little strays eating. After a long silence, Lu Muchi suddenly took a basic phone out of his pocket.
It was Yan Heqing's phone.
He walked down the stairs and tossed the phone into Yan Heqing's hood.
"Answer my calls. Don't even think about running away again. Wherever you go, I can find you."
Lu Muchi left.
Before long, his footsteps faded as he left the apartment building.
The motion-sensor lights in the stairwell went out one by one. After finishing its fish, one of the little strays jumped back onto the openwork window and slipped out through a gap.
The other was still licking Yan Heqing's palm, where a few scraps of fish remained.
Its soft tongue was barbed, and being licked did not feel particularly pleasant. Still, Yan Heqing waited patiently until the kitten finished licking and left before carrying his groceries home.
Once home, Yan Heqing turned on the light, changed into slippers, and went into the kitchen first.
Warm water washed over his fingers.
He reviewed Lu Muchi's expressions just now and knew the bait he had set had worked.
Feeding stray cats was a kindness only Lin Fengzhi was entitled to possess. In the past, he had gone hungry for three meals for every one that filled him. He truly had no energy to spare on pitying others.
On his first night after moving, he had discovered quite a few stray cats in the neighborhood.
He had begun feeding them every night.
Each time, he packed food in plastic bags and rustled the bags as he fed them. Gradually, the strays learned that the sound meant mealtime and would come out to find him.
Fewer strays had come tonight, but two were enough.
Yan Heqing washed his hands clean. Half a basin of water had collected in the sink. He took the basic phone out of his hood.
Then-
Plop.
The phone slowly sank to the bottom.
Yan Heqing turned, picked up a broom and dustpan, and went out again. He swept up all the cigarette butts outside his door, leaving not even a speck of ash.
Downstairs, Lu Muchi lowered the car window and glanced at the little room that had gone from dark to lit. An unusual emotion entered his dark eyes.
He instructed the driver, "Drive."
The driver asked cautiously, "Where to?"
"The ancestral home."
Lu Muchi generally did not go back to the residence, only visiting during holidays.
It was late and quiet. The gatekeeper raised the barrier, and the car drove onto a private road lined on both sides with plane trees. At the end stood the Lu family's ancestral home.
The villa had a vintage style from the previous century, its exterior understated and restrained. The living room lights were still on.
Lu Muchi changed his shoes and went inside, somewhat surprised. It was past midnight. Who was still-