Basically, there was nothing for Zhao Muqing to do anymore. Shen Guanzhi exchanged brief pleasantries with Xu Yingtang, then opened the safe he had brought with him to display the gemstones inside.
Xu Yingtang selected a high-clarity emerald and briefly outlined his design requirements to Shen Guanzhi. Xu Yingtang wanted to commission a custom necklace as a gift for his most pampered little favorite.
Zhao Muqing was so bored he started counting the wrinkles on the leather sofa. Before he could arrive at an exact number, Xu Yingtang’s voice abruptly pulled him back to reality: “Who is this?”
“We are dating,” Shen Guanzhi answered calmly. Zhao Muqing glanced over instinctively; the man could lie without even blinking.
“First time meeting.” Xu Yingtang’s gaze landed on Zhao Muqing once more, giving Zhao Muqing an unreasoned sense of deep discomfort. “Wishing you both the best.”
Shen Guanzhi offered a brief expression of thanks, locked the safe back up, and he and Zhao Muqing were escorted out of the villa by the elderly butler. The black sedan was parked in a nearby lot. Just as Shen Guanzhi had driven them here, he drove them back, with Zhao Muqing sitting in the passenger seat.
The car engine was not started immediately.
Shen Guanzhi placed the safe in the back seat. “You know him?”
Zhao Muqing was just about to deny it when his phone suddenly vibrated the next second. He instinctively picked it up to check, and WeChat showed a message from that unknown boss, notifying him that a party would be held at the villa tomorrow night at 7:00 PM, and requesting that he and Shen Guanzhi arrive on time.
The ambiguous words that followed were things Zhao Muqing had no desire to read.
Shen Guanzhi turned his phone screen toward Zhao Muqing. The chat window displayed the message from Xu Yingtang inviting Shen Guanzhi to the party. Because the location was at a different villa, location details were attached as well, and the message ended with a special emphasis requesting that he bring his partner on time.
Zhao Muqing immediately noticed that Xu Yingtang’s profile picture on Shen Guanzhi’s phone was different from the one on his own. Clearly, the man was using a separate account to contact him.
“Zhao Muqing,” Shen Guanzhi pulled his phone back. “Why did you come to Taoyu?”
Just based on a few glances and actions during their meeting earlier, plus a few emphatic sentences in a text message, Shen Guanzhi dared to deduce that he and Xu Yingtang had an unsavory relationship. Zhao Muqing instinctively tapped his knuckles against his thigh. If he had not read the original novel, he might have suspected Shen Guanzhi possessed telepathy.
“To hide from Xu Yingtang. That is the truth.” Zhao Muqing said, inevitably feeling rather irritated. “I never knew he was in Taoyu.”
“Is that so?” Shen Guanzhi clearly did not think much of Zhao Muqing’s words were believable.
“If I really wanted to have something going on with Xu Yingtang, I would not have needed to sprain my own leg, nor would I need you to help me fix things.”
“Not looking to collect benefits from both sides?” There was no emotion in Shen Guanzhi’s tone, as if he had long since guessed what kind of tricks the other person might pull. “On one hand, feigning trust in me, and on the other, secretly communicating with Xu Yingtang.”
“Fine, if you do not believe me, there is nothing I can do.” Believing that his image in Shen Guanzhi’s eyes was already set and that saying more would be a waste of breath, Zhao Muqing simply dropped a scumbag-style quote, fished out his phone, and started playing Dou Dizhu.
Having already given all the warnings that needed to be given, Shen Guanzhi clearly could not be bothered to talk to Zhao Muqing any further either. He directly started the car and drove in the direction of the hotel.
The atmosphere between the two of them instantly dropped to freezing point. Shen Guanzhi called room service to have dinner sent up, but Zhao Muqing insisted on clutching his plate and hiding in his bedroom to eat.
It was not that he was throwing a tantrum at Shen Guanzhi; in reality, what Shen Guanzhi thought of him did not matter. As long as the man did not develop murderous intentions, everything was fine. He mostly felt that two people staying in the same room while maintaining a silence so heavy that not a single half-word was spoken created a stiflingly awkward atmosphere.
Aside from the faint scratching sound of Shen Guanzhi’s pen nib gliding across his tablet while sketching designs, there were virtually no other sounds in the suite. It was eerily quiet. Unable to bear it any longer, Zhao Muqing put on his earphones to listen to music.
The stalemate in the room was finally broken close to midnight. Zhao Muqing sensed someone resting a hand on his shoulder from behind, prompting him to instinctively take off his earphones and turn his head. He found Shen Guanzhi looking at him with a placid expression as the man said, “Go to my bed.”
Zhao Muqing obediently followed him into Shen Guanzhi’s bedroom. Could this attitude, which barely passed for an improvement, possibly count as trying to curry favor with him? He was not that easy to fool.
Shen Guanzhi lay down, and once the bedroom lights were turned off, Zhao Muqing closed his eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep. Unlike Shen Guanzhi, his sleep quality was ridiculously good; he practically fell asleep the second his head hit the pillow.
If not for suddenly feeling the person beside him tightly grasp his hand, he probably would have slept straight through until dawn.
Zhao Muqing opened his eyes in the dark. He could not clearly see Shen Guanzhi’s face, but he could feel that the other man was tossing and turning restlessly, the grip around his palm growing tighter and tighter.
He turned on a dim bedside lamp and discovered that Shen Guanzhi’s forehead was constantly breaking out in sweat, as if he were frantically trying to grab onto something. His other hand had also reached out to clutch the hem of Zhao Muqing’s shirt.
Zhao Muqing casually pulled a tissue from the bedside table and wiped the sweat from Shen Guanzhi’s face.
Having a nightmare, huh? Zhao Muqing let out an imperceptible sigh. The man was clinging to him practically like a child, a sight that inexplicably softened his heart. He raised a hand to stroke Shen Guanzhi’s head, and seeing that it failed to pacify the man, he simply pulled him into an embrace. “It is okay, it is okay. Monsters and demons, scatter away.”
Only after being held in an embrace did Shen Guanzhi finally settle down. Zhao Muqing knew Shen Guanzhi was not at an age where he would be frightened by ghosts and monsters; the comforting words he had just spoken were complete nonsense.
In truth, even after finishing the original novel, he did not understand Shen Guanzhi very well, let alone himself or the characters around him. The novel heavily focused on the main protagonists; cannon fodder like him, along with the disposable tool-antagonists, were only dragged out when useful, and their specific background stories were almost never explained.
Seeing that Shen Guanzhi had stopped thrashing around, Zhao Muqing planned to loosen his grip and close his eyes to sleep, but the moment he turned off the lamp, the other man tangled himself around him all over again.
Well, fine. Consider it having a large body pillow.
Zhao Muqing was ultimately jolted awake by Shen Guanzhi the next morning. Since he had been holding the man tightly in his arms, the moment Shen Guanzhi moved to get up, Zhao Muqing easily perceived the motion and instinctively opened his eyes.
“You are, okay?” Zhao Muqing asked, rubbing his eyes. “Just for the record, you were the one clinging to me last night; I had no choice but to sleep holding you.”
“Mn, sorry to trouble you.” Shen Guanzhi got out of bed, his tone unexpectedly placid. Zhao Muqing even suspected something was wrong with his ears; it turned out Shen Guanzhi was actually capable of speaking politely to him.
“Not feeling like I am playing tricks anymore?” Zhao Muqing chuckled.
“Cannot stand hearing a nice thing?”
“You cannot really call that a nice thing,” Zhao Muqing pulled back the blanket and got out of bed. “That is just basic manners. Do not go gilding your own lily.”
Shen Guanzhi let out a light laugh, though it clearly was not a laugh born of amusement. He did not bother entertaining Zhao Muqing further and called the hotel to have two portions of breakfast sent up.
From morning onward, for the entire day, Shen Guanzhi never once brought up Xu Yingtang’s invitation to the party. It was not until dinner ended that Zhao Muqing saw Shen Guanzhi change into a formal outfit. It seemed going was unavoidable.
Zhao Muqing was dressed casually, wearing an ordinary black T-shirt paired with sweatpants, and after slipping his feet into sneakers, he was ready to head out. Shen Guanzhi waited for him in the car, and Zhao Muqing very consciously climbed into the passenger seat.
He could not quite get a read on Shen Guanzhi’s current attitude toward him. When they arrived by the villa’s swimming pool, Shen Guanzhi exchanged pleasantries with acquaintances while Zhao Muqing simply sat on the sidelines acting as a piece of decoration. Even knowing that he and Xu Yingtang were on bad terms, Shen Guanzhi did not make any particular moves.
Whatever. Zhao Muqing could not be bothered to think about it anymore. He simply grabbed a plate of peanuts from the table and started stuffing his face, conveniently polishing off his orange juice in one go.
Seeing that Shen Guanzhi was not drinking his, he pulled Shen Guanzhi’s glass of orange juice over and poured it straight into his own mouth.
Before he could even swallow it, Xu Yingtang popped up from nowhere, holding a glass of red wine as he greeted Shen Guanzhi.
Zhao Muqing did not pay much attention, letting them exchange the usual high-society pretense, until he distinctly noticed someone quietly slipping a slip of paper into his palm.
Since only Xu Yingtang had walked past him just moments ago, the origin of the note went without saying.
Zhao Muqing tried his best to conceal his movements as he unfolded the paper. The content was very simple, asking him to meet at the back garden’s storage shed at eight o’clock sharp.
It looked extremely dangerous. Zhao Muqing tore the note into pieces, shoved them into his pocket, and instinctively cast a glance toward Shen Guanzhi. The man remained completely indifferent.
Xu Yingtang’s intentions were obvious, and Shen Guanzhi clearly had no plans to look after him.
Zhao Muqing checked the time on his phone: it was 7:40 PM. There was not much time left.
He stood up, sneaked over to a neighboring table to grab an iron fork, shoved it into the waistband of his pants, and stuffed a few packets of ketchup into his pocket before taking a deep breath and heading off to keep the appointment.
The back garden was sparsely populated; most people were gathered around the swimming pool area, making the location of the storage shed even more secluded.
The moment he stepped in front of the door, someone quickly emerged from inside, grabbing him by the arm and yanking him straight into the shed.
The storage shed was illuminated by a single dim light, surrounded by scattered odds and ends with an old sofa placed right in the center.
Xu Yingtang blocked him in the corner. “Getting a meeting with you is truly difficult. Have you finished playing your little games?”
“What are you talking about, Xu-ge? I do not really understand.” Zhao Muqing started playing dumb.
“Was your trip to the hospital intentional?” Xu Yingtang pinched his chin. “Why? Because of Shen Guanzhi? Huh?”
“I really did just accidentally trip. I do not have much experience; I get nervous whenever there are too many people.” Zhao Muqing endured it without pulling away from Xu Yingtang’s grip.
Xu Yingtang let out a faint laugh. “For old time’s sake, if anyone else lied to me, I would not be giving them such a nice expression.”
Zhao Muqing instinctively swallowed hard.
“Come with me, and I can send you to an international exhibition.” Xu Yingtang leaned closer to his face. “You do not need to worry about being unable to shake off Shen Guanzhi. If you have any dirt on him, tell me, and I will take care of it for you.”
Zhao Muqing paused. “Xu-ge, with how almighty you are, being able to send me to an international exhibition, pulling Shen Guanzhi down should not be that hard, right?”
If he had not guessed wrong, Xu Yingtang probably was not interested in him at all, but rather wanted to extract information about Shen Guanzhi from him.
“You definitely know something,” Xu Yingtang said, applying slight pressure as he pinched Zhao Muqing’s hand. “How could Shen Guanzhi possibly take a fancy to a third-rate model like you? Is there some unspeakable reason?”
“Shen Guanzhi is a normal man too. What is so strange about him taking a fancy to me? I am not that bad.”
“You are defending him? What benefits did he give you? Something bigger than an international exhibition?”
It was not that he was desperate to stick with Shen Guanzhi; Zhao Muqing simply figured that the person in front of him was even less reliable. “Of course, it is because he is well-endowed and knows how to use it.”
“I am not bad either. Want to try?” Xu Yingtang’s breath practically brushed against his skin. “Did you think I only came here to fish for information? Truth is, Zhao Muqing, your looks happen to hit all my preferences.”
Zhao Muqing’s entire body tightened. No wonder he felt something was off: he had only recently signed a contract with Shen Guanzhi, yet his chat records with Xu Yingtang went back several weeks. How could the man have guessed so early on that Zhao Muqing would end up entangled with Shen Guanzhi?
“I added a little something to boost the mood in your orange juice.” Xu Yingtang grasped Zhao Muqing’s wrist.
Damn it. I am never eating random food at parties ever again.
Zhao Muqing thought with rising irritation as his body began to grow hot.