“No need to feel guilty, otherwise my profession as a bodyguard would seem worthless. Just don’t point guns at me.”
Sui Yuye looked down at them and paused. “Do you have a fever? Why are your faces so red?”
“…N-no, we don’t,” Fu Zhong stammered.
Fu E covered half his face with his hand. “It’s a bit hot. We’ll go get some air.”
Sui Yuye watched as the two abruptly stood up and left, feeling puzzled. Wasn’t the open-air terrace already breezy?
The server brought over several plates of food. Sui Yuye glanced at them—all his favorite seafood. His eyes lit up, and he eagerly put on gloves to start eating.
Chu Mingsi withdrew his gaze from the person on the sofa and looked to the side. “Qi Shengqian, does he know what he’s doing?”
Qi Shengxian: “…”
“Sheng Xian.”
“Come here.” Sui Yuye called him over, looking at Qi Shengxian standing to the side. “Sit down. Why are you standing?”
“Are you avoiding me?” Sui Yuye asked again.
“No.”
“Don’t say you’re not. From the start, you’ve been keeping the farthest distance from me.” He took off his gloves. “Do you realize you were wrong?”
“I’m sorry, Brother.” Qi Shengxian said softly. Suddenly, a plate was placed in front of him, filled with peeled lobster and snail meat. He stared blankly for a moment before looking up at Sui Yuye.
“Eat it quickly,” Sui Yuye said.
“I’m not hungry.”
“Do you think you can fool me? You haven’t been eating properly these past few days, have you? I heard from Shao Jinghe that you’ve been worried about me, but you couldn’t enter Quan Wangcheng’s estate.”
Sui Yuye shoved a fork into his hand. “Be good and finish it quickly. Don’t waste it.”
Dark circles hung under Qi Shengxian’s eyes, and his overall condition was poor. Sui Yuye could sense his anxiety and fear—he must have been terrified after learning he had been captured.
Only then did Qi Shengxian obediently take the plate and murmur, “I thought Brother didn’t want me anymore.”
“What nonsense. How could I ever bear to abandon you?” Sui Yuye ruffled his hair.
“Sui Yuye, why haven’t I seen you treat me like this?”
The sofa on the other side sank as Chu Mingsi sat down, resting his chin on his fingers and smiling at him.
Sui Yuye stared at the black-framed glasses on his face for a few seconds before reaching out and pulling them down slightly. Without the glasses, his face looked entirely different—staring at it for too long was almost suffocating, especially with the aggressive look in his eyes.
Chu Mingsi didn’t stop him, only saying, “Actually, I don’t really like others touching my glasses.”
“But for you, I don’t mind,” he added.
“You’d better put them back on.” Sui Yuye pushed the glasses back up and only then noticed they had no lenses—Chu Mingsi wasn’t nearsighted.
“You haven’t found a partner yet, have you?” Chu Mingsi asked.
“It’s not that easy. I’m not like you Roms, who can just wave a hand and have plenty of Cubs willing to come.” Sui Yuye raised an eyebrow and resumed peeling shrimp.
Among secondary genders, Switches were the least popular, with a particularly high number of singles—all because of impure genes.
If you tried to find a Cub, they’d mind that you also had Cub traits. If you tried to find a Rom, they’d mind that you also had Rom traits. If you tried to find a Normal, you might as well not bother.
Chu Mingsi: “I wouldn’t mind that you’re a Switch. How about—”
Sui Yuye raised his hand and stuffed the shrimp into his mouth. “It tastes good, try it.” Of course, he knew what the other was scheming, but he didn’t want to be Cub.
Chu Mingsi stared at him blankly.
“Is it good?” Sui Yuye asked.
“…It’s good.”
Mian Guanfei’s expression remained blank. “Why did you feed him and not me? Aren’t I the one you’re closer to?”
Sui Yuye’s mind went blank. Not knowing what to say, he simply peeled another shrimp and brought it to Mian Guanfei’s lips. Just as he finished feeding him, he turned around to see Fu E and Fu Zhong squatting by the coffee table, watching him.
Sui Yuye: “…Wait a moment.”
A waiter brought new gloves, but before he could get close, Shao Jinghe’s glare frightened him away, signaling that they weren’t needed and he should leave.
Seeing Shao Jinghe approaching as well, Sui Yuye gestured toward the peeled shrimp on the plate. “Use your chopsticks and help yourself.”
Just as he was about to bring a shrimp to his own mouth, a hand suddenly grabbed his wrist. Sui Yuye was pulled to his feet and looked up in surprise as Shao Jinghe bit the shrimp from his hand.
Sui Yuye said irritably, “There are so many on the table, yet you insist on taking mine.”
Shao Jinghe hummed and walked away.
Qi Shengxian directly removed his gloves. “Brother, don’t be too nice to them. They’ll only take advantage.”
“Huh? How are we doing that?” Fu Zhong turned to look at him. “Aren’t you the one taking advantage? What right do you have to say such things when you’ve been hogging the spot next to him?”
“He’s my brother, why shouldn’t I?” Qi Shengxian’s beautiful eyelashes curved slightly. “I live with my brother, sleep with him, and know all his habits and preferences. I’ve even seen him without clothes. What about you?”
The more Sui Yuye listened, the more uncomfortable he felt.
Was this something worth bragging about?
As soon as Qi Shengxian finished speaking, the atmosphere suddenly turned strange.
Because Qi Shengxian wasn’t wrong—he did hold a significant advantage. With their statuses being equal, he was the one who knew Sui Yuye best and was closest to him, making the others seem unworthy of Sui Yuye.
Why was it Qi Shengxian and not them?
Sui Yuye, full and satisfied, leaned back against the sofa. His suit pants rode up, revealing the ankle bracelet clearly in their line of sight, like an indescribable hint directed at them.
“By the way, Sheng Xian,” Sui Yuye said, as if remembering something. “I’ll be going to White City soon.”
The atmosphere instantly grew even quieter.
Unaware of the strangeness, Sui Yuye waited for Qi Shengxian’s response, but the other remained silent. Only then did Sui Yuye sense something was off and turned to look at him.
But he happened to meet Shao Jinghe’s eyes instead.
Shao Jinghe held a cigarette between his fingers, his palm resting against his cheek. He stared at Sui Yuye and said calmly:
“You’re not going.”
Sui Yuye’s tone turned cold. “What do you mean?”
“If you dare go to White City, I’ll lock you up.”
There was no trace of a smile on Shao Jinghe’s face. The coldness in his eyes was almost palpable, and the way he looked at Sui Yuye held no respect—as if he were merely a possession.
“Are you insane, Shao Jinghe? What’s wrong with you?!” Sui Yuye clearly felt offended and stood up to confront him. “Where I go is none of your business. What right do you have to control me?”
Shao Jinghe: “Do you think I can’t do it?”
Suddenly, a hand pressed down on his shoulder. Sui Yuye turned and saw a hand clad in a black glove.
Mian Guanfei pressed him back onto the sofa, not letting him get up.
“Wait, aren’t any of you going to say something to him?” Sui Yuye frowned as he looked at them.
No one spoke.
“…You… don’t actually agree with what he said, do you?” Sui Yuye tried to keep his tone light, but his voice gradually faded.
“Sui Yuye, if you want revenge against Quan Wangcheng, I’ll help you. I’ll provide you with protection.” Mian Guanfei’s voice softened into a tone Sui Yuye had never heard from him before:
“As long as you stay in Fan City, I’ll give you whatever you want.”
“I’m going to White City for a commission. It’s not like I’m going to pick fights for no reason. What do you all take me for?”
“Why didn’t both legs break when you fell back then?”
“Slap!!”
A crisp slap rang out. Glasses clattered to the floor as Sui Yuye glared furiously at the speaker: “Chu Mingsi!”
“If both legs were immobile, he wouldn’t be able to go anywhere,” Mian Guanfei said.
Shao Jinghe stubbed out his cigarette: “Let me put it this way, Sui Yuye. Even if you want to go to White City, you can’t.”
He curled his lips into a smirk: “You don’t actually think you can escape, do you? Any one of us has the influence to keep you from leaving Fan City. And as a Switch, if a high-level Rom uses dazzling light on you, you’ll have no choice but to obey.”
Suddenly, Sui Yuye’s eyes were covered. Qi Shengxian’s icy voice sounded in his ear: “Don’t use dazzling light on my brother.”
Sui Yuye clenched his fists and cursed, “Shao Jinghe, you lunatic.”
But what he didn’t know was that it wasn’t Shao Jinghe who had used the dazzling light.
Fu E and Fu Zhong’s previously slit-like pupils returned to normal as they quietly watched the person with covered eyes. Their gazes were no longer clear and bright; like the others, they now looked at him as if he were prey.
“…I can not go to White City,” Sui Yuye said. “But you can’t use dazzling light on me.”
Fu E: “Really?”
Sui Yuye: “Really.”
Yeah, right.
Once I finish up in White City, I’m leaving the country. Never seeing you again.