Wednesday was a securities trading day, so Chen Wan went to Mingji Central Exchange to handle some paperwork.
The Central complex was vast, radiating outward from White Dove Square at its center. Along the bauhinia-lined walkways, branches spread thick shade overhead.
Great conglomerates that had rung the market bell, like the Zhao family’s Minglong and the Shen family’s Puli, all occupied towers on Finley Street, where every inch of land was worth gold. Emerging small and midsize companies like Chen Wan’s Kexiang could only rent several floors in an office building on Prince Section West.
Wherever people existed, a chain of contempt would always form. Those from Harvard, Cambridge, MIT, or Ivy League schools went to Finley Street. Those with Columbia or University of Pennsylvania diplomas went to Prince Section West.
Chen Wan stepped into the building as cold air rushed toward him.
And unexpectedly, he saw Zhao Shengge.
The other man was alone, as if waiting for a car.
The man who had vanished for more than two months and existed only in everyone’s rumors had suddenly appeared. Chen Wan’s mind went blank for an instant, and a very slow, unfounded happiness rose inside him.
It was also a useless happiness.
Chen Wan did not know whether Zhao Shengge had any impression of him. He hesitated for a moment and had originally intended to pretend he had not seen him and walk straight past. The tips of his shoes had already turned away when, suddenly, the other man happened to lift his head and glance over. He was probably checking whether his car had arrived. He looked as though he had already been waiting for some time and had something urgent to handle.
Chen Wan could not pretend not to have seen him, so he walked over.
Zhao Shengge seemed to have some impression of him, but could not quite place who he was.
Chen Wan was not surprised in the slightest. He gave a very brief self-introduction. Zhao Shengge nodded faintly and casually said his car had broken down.
Chen Wan smiled mildly and asked politely, “Are you in a hurry to leave? If you don’t mind, my car is nearby. I can give you a ride.”
Zhao Shengge looked at him. “Would that be convenient?”
Chen Wan paused.
He had only asked out of courtesy. He had not expected Zhao Shengge to truly agree. As something exploded inside him, he immediately began reproaching himself for not driving a better car today.
How could Zhao Shengge sit in a BYD? And one that had been rammed by a lunatic not long ago, at that.
But Chen Wan did not want to give up this chance. He said it was convenient and asked where Zhao Shengge was going. Zhao Shengge gave him a place, and Chen Wan said all right.
He led the way. The two of them kept a distance that was neither close nor far, a standard social distance, yet still closer than they had ever been on those previous outings.
Zhao Shengge was tall and long-legged. When he walked, he carried a restrained kind of force. Both their arms swung slightly, stirring the hot, restless air. Chen Wan’s heartbeat rose and fell with the other man’s rhythm, like the white doves in Central Square beating their wings.
Zhao Shengge’s arm must be very warm, he thought, somewhat dazed.
Chen Wan tucked his hand back into his pocket, took out his keys, and pressed the unlock button toward the BYD several meters away.
With a beep, a flock of white doves by the fountain startled into flight.
Chen Wan opened the rear door for Zhao Shengge like a gentleman, even lifting one hand in a light guard over the roof of the car, the gesture perfectly proper.
Zhao Shengge got in as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The BYD had only recently been repaired. Its limited space made him frown slightly, and his long legs could only overlap in a rather aggrieved manner.
Chen Wan said apologetically, “The car isn’t very spacious. Please forgive that, Mr. Zhao. There’s water beside you.”
“Thank you.”
Zhao Shengge was very distant. Chen Wan asked whether the temperature was suitable, then said nothing more. He concentrated on driving and did not add even half a word of small talk along the way.
Zhao Shengge was silent in the back seat as well, so quiet that Chen Wan almost suspected he was the only person in the car.
Yet the aura looming behind him seemed nearly tangible—calm, but carrying immense pressure. It kept him alert at every moment.
If Chen Wan had eyes on the back of his head, he would have discovered that Zhao Shengge was observing him.
Openly. Without restraint.
Chen Wan drove cleanly and efficiently. His hand fell, the gear shifted. He yielded where he should yield and overtook where he should overtake.
Zhao Shengge was like an expressionless examiner. His gaze fell on Chen Wan’s hand—the right hand that had once brewed tea for them, now gripping the steering wheel.
Zhao Shengge looked away.
For some reason, the entire road today was full of red lights. At every intersection, the two of them had to sit together in the silent car, waiting through those calm, sharpened, accidental thirty-two seconds.
For Zhao Shengge, it was a bored examination.
For Chen Wan, it was sweet torture.
There was almost no sound of breathing inside the car. Their gazes accidentally met in the rearview mirror—one calm and proud, the other gentle and deferential.
One second.
Then they both looked away.
Chen Wan smiled with a trace of apology, as if even the red light’s fault belonged to him, as if he had delayed the other man’s time.
Zhao Shengge did not return that smile. He turned his gaze aside, answered a phone call, and said, “Traffic.”
“I’m coming.”
Zhao Shengge spoke very little. His words were concise and low, like an ant stepping onto some tender, aching nerve in Chen Wan and crawling into the bottom of his heart.
The destination of this trip was Eagle Pond.
Hai City’s den of extravagance and ruin, notorious for its beauties, its wild amusements, its limitless luxury, and its lack of a bottom line.
Of course Chen Wan had no unrealistic or improper thoughts. He was absolutely clearheaded, rational, disciplined, and restrained.
But thinking was one thing. Reality happening was another.
If feelings were truly so easy to control, if they could be opened and closed at will, then their magic would be far too ordinary.
If Zhuo Zhixuan were here, he would surely clap and praise Chen Wan for being so remarkable—personally delivering the person he liked to a pleasure ground ten miles deep.
A secret love was a road to the underworld where one could not make a sound and could not turn back.
All along the way, red lights hung high. When they turned green, the beeping was urgent. The skyscrapers stood like towering monuments, burying one person’s silent, nameless love that dared not be spoken.
When they arrived at Eagle Pond, Zhao Shengge said he did not want to get out at the main entrance.
He was not familiar with Chen Wan, but his tone when ordering people around was perfectly natural.
Chen Wan did not turn back. He nodded to Zhao Shengge through the rearview mirror and asked while reversing, “Then which side entrance would you like me to drop you at?”
Because police officers often came to inspect the place, Eagle Pond had many concealed entrances. The higher a member’s rank, the more entrances he had permission to use.
Mr. Zhao was very polite. He asked Chen Wan’s opinion. “Where do you think would be appropriate?”
“…”
Chen Wan went quiet for a moment, unable to grasp what Zhao Shengge meant. He did not know whether Zhao Shengge wanted to be received as a guest or to avoid being seen.
The interior structure of Eagle Pond was extremely complicated, like a maze extending in all directions. The club was divided into eight entrances altogether—Water Gate, Rain Gate, Kun Gate…
Feng shui was popular in Hai City. The owner of Eagle Pond had specially hired a master to calculate it. Every entrance was winding and secluded, yet connected everywhere.
Chen Wan did not know whether Zhao Shengge wanted to go to Building A or Building B. Building A had illegal performances. Building B’s waters were even deeper. He did not know the specifics, but where Zhao Shengge was going was not something he could ask about.
Before Chen Wan answered, Zhao Shengge seemed to say with great consideration, “Wherever it’s easier for you to park. I’ll get out there.”
Chen Wan’s head hurt even more for a moment.
That sentence sounded considerate, but in truth, it pushed the decision into Chen Wan’s hands.
How Chen Wan chose could reveal many things. For instance, where he thought Zhao Shengge would go, how much he knew, and whether he wanted others to see Zhao Shengge getting out of his car.
It was very tricky.
After several seconds of careful consideration, Chen Wan said, “Then shall I drop you at Water Gate?”
Water Gate counted as the center. Once inside, there were private elevators, and guests could go wherever they liked.
Seeing Chen Wan kick the ball back again, Zhao Shengge looked at him through the rearview mirror and smiled. In a calm, casual tone, he said, “You know quite a lot.”
“…”
Chen Wan wanted to deny it, but feared saying too much would only create more mistakes, so in the end, he said nothing.
In truth, he had only come inside once with Zhuo Zhixuan. After seeing performances so explicit and obscene they made him uncomfortable, he had left early.
In the end, Chen Wan still dropped Zhao Shengge off at Water Gate. He did not ask whether Zhao Shengge needed the car to wait and take him back. He simply turned around and left.
Zhao Shengge waited until his taillights had vanished before entering through another door.
One of Eagle Pond’s shareholders had long been waiting at the entrance and led Zhao Shengge through a private elevator straight to the seventy-eighth floor.
The tower thrust into the sky like some enormous creature in the night mist. Through the one-way glass, one could look directly down on the life of sensual indulgence below. Hai City blazed with lights, like a giant vessel sailing through the night.
In the guest room, a man nearing forty heard the door open, released the hand of the boy on his lap, stood, and walked over with a hand extended. “Mr. Zhao.”
Zhao Shengge condescended to extend his hand and gave him a perfunctory shake. “Mr. Shao.”
Shao Yaozong glanced behind him and saw no one else. But he knew that as long as Zhao Shengge so much as coughed, dozens of bodyguards carrying K48s would rush out from unknown corners of this seemingly airtight room.
After Zhao Shengge sat down, Shao Yaozong beckoned for another boy to sit beside him.
The one who came over was even prettier than the one in his arms, with an air that was clean and obedient.
Zhao Shengge did not refuse. He said to the boy, “Pour me a glass.”
The boy obediently withdrew the hand that had been reaching toward him and sat properly beside him.
Shao Yaozong narrowed his cloudy eyes. “Mr. Zhao doesn’t like him? I chose him specially for you.”
Neither of these two boys belonged to this place. Shao Yaozong had brought them himself, selected with the greatest care from countless options.
Zhao Shengge cooperatively glanced at the boy beside him, who had lowered his eyes and looked perfectly submissive. With one hand resting on the back of the sofa, his posture relaxed, he said, “Mr. Shao is very thoughtful.”
Then he lifted his chin slightly toward the boy and ordered in a warm voice, “Put your sleeves down.”