The road was not very wide, just enough for two cars, one heading into the mountains and one heading out, with only a single yellow line down the middle.
As the two cars passed, the passenger-side window of the other car was just sliding up, and a familiar profile flashed past.
Screech!
The sound of sudden braking rang out through the quiet, snowy valley.
The black Bugatti stood still on the road. Snowflakes landed on its roof as Lu Lin lowered his window, letting the cold wind rush in. In the rearview mirror, the Audi gradually receded.
It was him.
Lu Lin's brow shifted slightly.
"Sorry, Xiao Yan." The old man drove a little faster than he had on the way there. "Making you head back so early. Something came up at home."
Yan Heqing rolled up the window. "It's fine. It's better to head back early when it's snowing. It'll be trouble if the roads ice over."
The old man really had not thought of that. "You're right. I'll drive faster. Getting stuck on the highway would be a pain."
The old man sped up even more.
Meanwhile, Lu Lin turned his car around and contacted Xie Yunjie.
"What days does that bartender work?"
Xie Yunjie did not follow. "What bartender?"
"OG."
"Oh, oh, that young bartender." Xie Yunjie was quite surprised. "Why are you suddenly asking about him?"
Lu Lin accelerated. "I feel like a drink."
"Today works," Xie Yunjie replied. "He's there Fridays and Saturdays."
Chapter 16: 016
Eight that evening, at Oxygen.
Feng Zhixian had not taken his eyes off the bar, where a bartender was busy working. He called a server over.
"Xiao Yan isn't here yet?"
The server shook his head. "He took today off."
Feng Zhixian was very surprised. "He..."
A commotion came from the entrance. He looked over and saw the bar manager leading Xie Yunjie and another man inside.
Feng Zhixian knew Xie Yunjie. The other man was...
He took a few more curious looks, only for that gaze to turn toward him at the same time. Their eyes met, and an inexplicable shiver ran through Feng Zhixian. He quickly looked away.
What an intimidating presence...
Feng Zhixian lowered his voice considerably. "Who's the man with Mr. Xie?"
The server looked over and lowered his voice too. "President Lu."
There were plenty of people surnamed Lu in the capital, and those surnamed Lu who were
CEOs
were hardly rare either, but in all of the capital, there was only one person for whom "President Lu" alone sufficed in place of a name: Lu Lin, the man at the helm of the Lu Group.
Feng Zhixian sucked in a breath. No wonder he had such a powerful presence. So it was him.
Since Yan Heqing had taken the day off anyway, Feng Zhixian simply stubbed out his cigarette, put an arm around the boy beside him, and murmured a few words. The boy's cheeks flushed as he listened, and he got up and left with him.
"What are you looking at?" Xie Yunjie followed Lu Lin's gaze and saw two men leaving together.
Lu Lin calmly withdrew his gaze. "Nothing."
Xie Yunjie felt that Lu Lin was acting a little strange today.
First he had suggested going out for drinks, and now he had come through the bar's main entrance. They usually used a private entrance on the other side that led straight to the private rooms.
Once they entered the private room, the manager beamed at them. "President Lu, Mr. Xie, we received a few bottles of Petrus today. Would you like one opened?"
Xie Yunjie plopped down on the sofa. "No need. Bring us two of Xiao Yan's Negronis."
The manager nodded and bowed, keeping a smile on his face. "Unfortunately, today... Xiao Yan has taken the day off."
Lu Lin looked over, and the manager instantly stood a little straighter.
The manager was trembling with apprehension, but unexpectedly, Lu Lin only asked, "What vintages of Petrus do you have?"
The manager answered immediately, "A '16, a '15, and one bottle of '90."
"Open the '90."
"Yes, I'll have it brought over shortly." The manager promptly withdrew.
Xie Yunjie kept looking Lu Lin over. Pressing his tongue against his back molars, he asked, "Old Lu, were you planning to go fishing today?"
Lu Lin was dressed entirely in casual clothes.
"It started snowing halfway there." Lu Lin picked up his water glass, his eyes unreadable.
Only then did Xie Yunjie remember that the snow really was quite heavy tonight. On his way over, the traffic report had said several roads had been closed due to ice.
Xie Yunjie had been about to ask whether he did not go out to sea even in a typhoon, but just as he opened his mouth, he noticed that Lu Lin had no desire to talk and was silently turning his water glass.
Xie Yunjie shut his mouth.
Meanwhile, Yan Heqing returned to his residential complex. He had had quite a haul today. He left a few cleaned fish where the stray cats frequented before going upstairs to his apartment.
He had eaten dinner by the lake. Yan Heqing took off his clothes and went into the bathroom to shower.
The bathroom was extremely cramped, with a small toilet taking up one half and the shower the other.
There had been no shower curtain before. Yan Heqing had bought it himself.
The already tiny space was even more cramped with the shower curtain, but Yan Heqing was so thin that he could just about turn around inside.
The aging white wall tiles had yellowed, but Yan Heqing had scrubbed them spotlessly clean. Hot water streamed down over his head. He closed his eyes, replaying the car he had encountered at the foot of the mountain in his mind.
Black.
He did not recognize car brands, but the license plate had been Beijing A1111.
Lu Lin had gone fishing that evening.
And then...
That screech of brakes.
Lu Lin had seen him.
His previous appearances had worked. Lu Lin remembered him.
After his shower, Yan Heqing changed into clean, soft pajamas. It was almost eleven, but he still opened his laptop and worked through the question bank as planned.
He started his practice questions relatively late that day and did not finish until two in the morning.
After sitting for too long, Yan Heqing's neck began bothering him again. He had cervical spondylosis.
He had spent years living on the Yan family's little balcony, which was damp for most of the year. Coupled with the bed that only allowed him to sleep curled up, his neck had already developed problems years ago.
Closing his laptop, Yan Heqing massaged his neck for a while before getting into bed.
Lin Fengzhi was sleeping too.
For the past few days, he had locked himself in his room and ignored everyone who knocked.
His bedroom was a suite, with a gaming room, a darkroom for developing photographs, and a sitting room equipped with a refrigerator and a snack cabinet.
Every week, the servants restocked the refrigerator with drinks and ice cream and refilled the snack cabinet. Lin Fengyi knew Lin Fengzhi would not go hungry.
But by Monday, still worried that the snacks would upset his stomach, Lin Fengyi forcibly removed the door lock.