Jian Shigu almost spat out the mouthful of water he had just swallowed. It took him a good long while to barely stabilize his fluctuating emotions. “Just how big of a mess are you in? It has actually reached the point where you need to fake your death and run for your life?”
“Very, very big.” The phone in Zhao Muqing’s pocket was still vibrating; he could practically feel a chilling draft blowing down his back. “The kind that involves personal safety.”
“You.” Jian Shigu scanned his surroundings, confirming no one was close by before lowering his voice. “You didn’t break the law, did you?”
“No, no, no, I don’t have the guts for that. I just offended someone.” This time, it was Zhao Muqing’s turn to almost spit out a mouthful of plain water.
Jian Shigu paused, taking a large gulp of cold water as if hoping it would steady his nerves. Observing his expression, Zhao Muqing saw it wasn’t as astonished as before, clearly understanding his plight. Offending people in this industry wasn’t difficult at all.
“It must be a big shot, then.” Jian Shigu let out an imperceptible sigh. “Well, nothing to be done about it. If I can help, I certainly will do my best. Tell me, what is the plan?”
Zhao Muqing fell silent for a moment, an idea gradually taking shape in his head. “Do you have a way to borrow a boat? Can you meet me and pick me up?”
“I can, but where do you plan to jump?”
“With your word, I can rest easy.” Zhao Muqing felt deeply grateful to his friend; without Jian Shigu, this matter couldn’t have been pulled off on short notice. “I will contact you with the details later. Right now, we should deal with your sister’s matter first.”
“Alright, keep in touch anytime.” Jian Shigu waved at Zhao Muqing before leaving the restaurant and heading toward the hospital.
Zhao Muqing took a deep breath and fished his phone out of his pocket. Shen Guanzhi had initiated a few voice calls with him, but he hadn’t answered a single one. The other man finally left him a message. [You have two choices: call me back, or come straight to my office.]
After hesitating for a long time, he still put the phone back in his pocket, hailed a cab, and returned to the studio. Taking the elevator upstairs, Zhao Muqing felt as nervous as an elementary school student about to hand a failing test paper to their parents for a signature. He stood outside Shen Guanzhi’s office and took three deep breaths before daring to knock.
“Come in.” Shen Guanzhi’s temperatureless voice came from inside.
Zhao Muqing pushed the door slightly and found that it wasn’t locked. The moment he stepped into the office, he discovered Shen Guanzhi waiting right by the door.
Shen Guanzhi forcefully slammed the door shut and instantly locked it.
“Bo, Boss.” Zhao Muqing attempted to step forward ingratiatingly to cozy up, but before he could make a move, Shen Guanzhi pinned him against the wall.
Zhao Muqing’s cheek pressed against the cold wall. Feeling Shen Guanzhi’s body practically pressed flush against his own, he felt the other man leave a bite mark on his earlobe once again. “I told you to call me by my name.”
“Shen Guanzhi,” Zhao Muqing struggled twice to no avail. “Calm down, let us talk properly.”
“Want to talk properly? You didn’t reply to my messages or return my calls for over an hour. I need a reasonable explanation.”
“I went to the hospital to see Jian Shigu’s sister.” Zhao Muqing blurted out.
“Is that so? I will verify this matter.” Shen Guanzhi loosened his grip slightly.
Zhao Muqing finally let out a breath of relief. “Right, I came here specifically to ask you for leave.”
“Reason.” Shen Guanzhi returned to his seat at the desk, while Zhao Muqing sat down opposite him. “I want to go to the seaside to clear my mind.”
“What is wrong? Are you in a bad mood?” Shen Guanzhi immediately stopped what he was doing and raised his head to meet Zhao Muqing’s gaze.
“No,” Zhao Muqing lied without blinking an eye. “Just too tired from classes, want to relax a bit.”
“When are you going? I will go with you.”
“No, no, no, there’s no need.” Zhao Muqing waved his hands frantically. Although having Shen Guanzhi witness him jumping into the sea would have the best effect, given Shen Guanzhi’s sharpness, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t figure something out. “I’d still prefer to be by myself.”
“Is that so?” Whether it was Zhao Muqing’s imagination or not, Shen Guanzhi’s tone grew a fraction colder.
He paused for a moment before continuing. “In Dongyuan?”
Zhao Muqing gave an affirmative answer. There couldn’t possibly be a better choice than Dongyuan City; Shen Guanzhi’s eyes and ears were everywhere here, and he needed to let Shen Guanzhi know that he had jumped into the sea and perished.
“How many days?”
“Is five days okay? Three days is fine too if five is too long.”
“One week.” Shen Guanzhi began focusing on the computer in front of him. “Submit an application on OA, I will have people below approve it for you.”
This came as an unexpected blessing; a week’s time was plenty of preparation.
Saying he needed to prepare didn’t mean there was actually that much stuff. Zhao Muqing packed his luggage in advance, contacted Jian Shigu to confirm the extraction logistics, and scouted the destination location.
Suitable waters in Dongyuan City were scarce, and after searching online back and forth, Zhao Muqing settled on this particular spot. He needed to pick a location suitable for faking an accident; his current plan was to rent a speedboat out to sea and stage the appearance of accidentally falling overboard.
Jian Shigu confirmed he could extract him at any time, allegedly using a friend’s boat. Zhao Muqing made a special trip to scope out the site in person, mapped out the approximate route, and after confirming everything was error-free with Jian Shigu, prepared to execute it.
Busy with work, Shen Guanzhi naturally had no spare time to personally monitor Zhao Muqing’s movements, instead instructing his subordinates to keep a closer eye on Zhao Muqing and report any abnormal behavior immediately.
His subordinates lacked Shen Guanzhi’s acute perception, and the daily reports uniformly stated that everything was normal. Even if Shen Guanzhi wanted to doubt it, he couldn’t find any flaws.
“The jewelry exhibition will be held at seven o’clock tonight.” The secretary stood before Shen Guanzhi, ticking off the itinerary while briefing him on other relevant matters. Shen Guanzhi nodded, dismissed the secretary, and contacted his assistant to ready the car.
Shen Guanzhi wasn’t currently in Dongyuan City, having spent this period staying at a star-rated hotel in a neighboring city. He changed into the shipped suit and arrived at the venue fifteen minutes early.
Quite a few glamorous people took the initiative to greet him, but Shen Guanzhi had no heart for them. After offering brief responses, he bypassed the side hall and entered the main exhibition area.
“Mr. Shen.”
Hearing the voice, Shen Guanzhi instinctively and imperceptibly frowned. He recognized the owner of the voice almost instantly, and his already poor mood plummeted a few notches further.
“Mr. Xu,” Shen Guanzhi feigned indifference, displaying not a shred of the annoyance that had just bubbled up on the surface. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“I actually guessed you would show up, though I wouldn’t skip out just because of Mr. Shen.” Xu Yingtang stepped forward, lowering his voice right by Shen Guanzhi’s ear. “After all, I don’t hold you in that high of a regard either.”
Seeing that the other man had dropped the pretense, Shen Guanzhi felt a sense of relief instead. He had no interest in putting up a polite facade with Xu Yingtang here. “I care nothing for your opinion of me. Pardon me, if there is nothing else, I shall head elsewhere.”
Naturally, Xu Yingtang wasn’t going to detain him. Without sparing even a glance in his peripheral vision, Shen Guanzhi walked past the exhibition booths one by one on his own accord.
This exhibition was hosted by a well-known jewelry designer; though less famous than Shen Guanzhi, the host was always willing to embrace all valuable designs, and fame wasn’t among Shen Guanzhi’s considerations.
He carefully mapped out his route, ensuring he wouldn’t miss a single exhibited design.
Inadvertently, Shen Guanzhi walked past a corridor entrance inside the exhibition hall. It was unlit, pitch dark, and virtually impossible to see through. He originally paid it no mind until an extremely faint sound drifted from within.
“Alright, that is enough.”
“You weren’t saying that just a moment ago.”
One voice was entirely unfamiliar, but the other clearly belonged to Xu Yingtang. Shen Guanzhi unhappily twitched the corner of his mouth. Like a bad penny, the man just wouldn’t leave him alone.
Before he could walk away, Xu Yingtang emerged from the dim corridor first, accompanied by a fair-skinned young man. Looking completely unfazed, Xu Yingtang watched as the youth panicked upon seeing someone outside and bolted away.
“Only irrational animals fail to mind the occasion.” Shen Guanzhi dropped a cold remark and turned to leave.
“What is rationality?” Xu Yingtang chuckled softly. “Shen Guanzhi, if you hold back and refuse to make a move on everything, once the opportunity passes, it will never come back.”
Clearly, Shen Guanzhi had no interest in Xu Yingtang’s specious reasoning.
“I am just like that. Whatever I want, I get my hands on immediately, no matter the method.” Unfazed by the cold shoulder, Xu Yingtang continued on his own accord. “What about you, Shen Guanzhi? Don’t think I can’t tell, you are no saint either.”
“I have nothing I want.”
“How can anyone live without desires?” Xu Yingtang couldn’t help laughing. “Could it be that you have no desires toward your little lover?”
Shen Guanzhi’s movements paused involuntarily, but maintaining his composure, he briskly walked away, leaving Xu Yingtang far behind him.
When the exhibition concluded, Shen Guanzhi returned to Dongyuan City overnight.
Back at the villa, standing inside the elevator, his thumb hovered over the third-floor button before shifting to press the fourth floor instead.
In no time, Shen Guanzhi stood outside Zhao Muqing’s bedroom door, which had been left slightly ajar with a narrow gap. He could observe movement inside, and aside from Zhao Muqing, it could be no one else.
He knocked on the door.
“Come in.” Zhao Muqing turned his head, watching Shen Guanzhi push open the door and step into the room. “It’s you. I thought you weren’t coming back.”
“I cannot sleep alone.” Shen Guanzhi closed in on Zhao Muqing’s direction. “Forgot?”
“I was just wondering if you planned to take sleeping pills, or if it doesn’t have to be me sleeping with you, anyone else would do, right?” Zhao Muqing voiced his thoughts directly.
Shen Guanzhi’s expression chilled. “Zhao Muqing, not just anyone will do for me.”
“Oh, alright then.” Zhao Muqing casually brushed it off. He had just zipped up his unfolded suitcase and hauled it upright.
Shen Guanzhi blocked his path. “Packing your things to go where?”
“To the seaside, of course. Didn’t you know?” Zhao Muqing scratched his head sheepishly. “If you can’t sleep, should I rush back tonight to accompany you?”
“Why won’t you let me come with you?” Shen Guanzhi closed in further.
Panic welled up inside Zhao Muqing, prompting him to take a few steps back. “I, I told you I’d be more relaxed by myself. I will come back, really.”
“Are you truly relaxing, or are you plotting something?” Shen Guanzhi grabbed Zhao Muqing’s arm, leaving the latter with no room to retreat further.
“I will give you two choices: I accompany you, or you stay here and aren’t allowed to go anywhere.”