Outside the entrance of Jiangqing Tower, the intertwined wails of police sirens and ambulance alarms filled the air.
When Ling Feng rushed downstairs, he happened to catch sight of Shen Li being led away by the police. The moment he spotted Zhou Lifan, he also figured out roughly what had happened.
He wanted to step forward, but the police blocked his path.
As the police cruiser and ambulance pulled away, the surrounding area returned to an eerie quiet. There was nothing Ling Feng could do; any attempt to step forward was blocked by the authorities, let alone trying to fish someone out of a police station.
A name flashed through his mind, and Ling Feng quickly made a call.
“Big Boss Ji, President Shen was taken away by the police.”
Shen Li walked out of the police station at seven o’clock. Night had fallen, though the sky was not yet completely pitch-black.
He kept his head down, trailing quietly behind Ji Zhouye.
Ji Zhouye did not ask him what had happened, nor did Shen Li volunteer any explanations.
Some matters did not need to be spelled out aloud; both parties understood the situation implicitly, and sparing the questions was a way of preserving his dignity.
The man walking ahead stopped to wait for him, prompting Shen Li to quicken his pace until he was right beside him. “I am sorry, and thank you.”
“What are you apologizing for?”
Ji Zhouye lowered his gaze to look at him.
Shen Li did not dare meet his eyes. “For failing to pick you up on time, and for bringing you trouble.”
Without a word, Ji Zhouye peeled open a band-aid, took hold of Shen Li’s hand, and pressed the adhesive strip directly over a scratch on the back of his hand.
Shen Li had not even noticed when he had scraped himself, nor had he felt any pain.
Yet the moment Ji Zhouye applied the band-aid, the sensation magnified, and a dull, stinging ache throbbed from the wound.
Keeping his head bowed like a child who had done something wrong and was waiting for a scolding, Shen Li’s eyelashes trembled slightly. “I did nothing wrong, Ji Zhouye. I did not do anything wrong.”
“Does she come harass you often?” Ji Zhouye asked.
The two of them stood facing one another.
Shen Li kept his gaze lowered, refusing to look at Ji Zhouye, terrified of seeing any disgust directed at him. “No, just this once.”
Though Ji Zhouye had never conducted a deep investigation into his family background, he understood a thing or two. Shen Li would never resort to violence without cause; even when deliberately provoked, he was capable of turning a blind eye.
Unless the other party crossed his absolute bottom line.
Ji Zhouye said nothing more. He offered no reprimands and pressed for no details of the incident, simply driving him out to get dinner instead.
During the meal, Shen Li ordered a substantial amount of alcohol.
Having zero appetite and feeling like he could not swallow a single bite, he forced down two mouthfuls under the heavy pressure of Ji Zhouye’s gaze and spent the rest of the time drinking.
Drinking was one thing, but any dish Ji Zhouye placed into his bowl had to be eaten as well, or else he would be met with a threatening glare.
By the time dinner ended, Shen Li was somewhat tipsy, his head swimming with a heavy haze. He wanted to lean against Ji Zhouye, but did not dare.
At times he was truly a coward, while at other times he acted impossibly bold and utterly deserving of a beating. “Ji Zhouye, I am completely drunk right now. Am I allowed to do whatever I want tonight?”
As Ji Zhouye led him by the hand toward the parking lot, he asked, “What kind of whatever you want do you have in mind?”
“To hold you, kiss you, and sleep with you.” Shen Li was genuinely far gone; had he been sober, those words would never have crossed his lips. “You have slept with me so many times, it is only fair if I sleep with you once.”
Shoving the intoxicated man into the passenger seat, Ji Zhouye leaned in to fasten his seatbelt. “Fine, we will sleep together as soon as we get home.”
“Let us get one thing straight first. Whatever happens tonight has nothing to do with tomorrow’s Shen Li.”
Ji Zhouye let out an amused huff. “Are you trying to play the scumbag and walk away without taking responsibility?”
Catching hold of Ji Zhouye’s arm, Shen Li wore a look of deep grievance on his face. “It is not that I do not want to take responsibility. It is because you do not like me. Ji Zhouye, do you hate me?”
Ji Zhouye lowered his gaze, the emotions swirling in his eyes unreadable.
“Why are you not saying anything? Am I right?”
“Shen Li, you do not understand a single thing.”
“If I do not understand, you can just tell me. Tell me, and I will understand.” Tilting his chin upward, Shen Li looked at him. “Ji Zhouye, are you missing your mouth? You must be missing your mouth.”
A drunk Shen Li had an extraordinary amount of things to say.
“Who exactly is the one missing their mouth? I am not talking to a drunk.” Ji Zhouye slammed the passenger door shut and walked around to the driver’s side.
The moment he climbed into the car, Shen Li unbuckled his seatbelt, leaned across the center console, and threw his arms around Ji Zhouye’s neck, pressing his forehead against the man’s jaw. “Let me hug you first.”
Ji Zhouye remained completely still, allowing himself to be held as a faint chuckle slipped past his lips at some random thought.
He could already picture Shen Li waking up tomorrow morning and pretending none of this ever happened.
Truly full of tricks, taking manipulation to an absolute art form.
After holding him for a little while, the person in his arms went quiet. Lowering his gaze, Ji Zhouye saw that Shen Li had drifted off to sleep with his eyes closed, though his hands remained tightly locked around his waist.
Ji Zhouye watched him quietly for a good long while before gently prying those fingers apart, carefully shifting him back into the passenger seat, and securing his seatbelt.
The drive took twenty minutes. The moment the car pulled to a stop inside the estate, Shen Li opened his eyes.
He was drunk, but not completely out of it.
He knew everything he had said and done, and he would not forget a single word come morning.
He had done it on purpose.
Only at times like this would Ji Zhouye treat him with gentleness, acting just like he used to back then.
He had no way of knowing whether that gentleness was mixed with other motives, or if it simply stemmed from an unwillingness to bicker with a drunkard.
He was genuinely surprised to see Ji Zhouye show up at the police station tonight.
In truth, even if Ji Zhouye had not shown up, Zhou Lifan would have eventually used a settlement as leverage to demand money from him within a few days.
And if he stubbornly refused to pay, Zhou Lifan would have coaxed Zhao Song into agreeing to a settlement himself.
Zhou Lifan was ruthless, but not quite ruthless enough; no matter what, Shen Li was still her son.
It was just that compared to this son, she loved herself and her lover far more. Calling the police was merely meant to teach Shen Li a lesson and grind down his sharp edges.
Shen Li’s hostility was reserved exclusively for Zhao Song and her.
No one starts hating someone for no reason at all.
Stepping out of the bathroom after a hot shower, Shen Li found that Ji Zhouye had already finished washing up in the adjoining bathroom. The man was leaning against the headboard of the bed looking down at his phone, his hair still damp at the tips.
Finding it rather strange, Shen Li noted that Ji Zhouye usually waited for him to finish before taking his turn, yet tonight the man had beaten him to it.
Walking around to the other side of the bed, Shen Li sat down on the mattress.
“Check your phone,” Ji Zhouye instructed.
Picking up the phone from the bedside table, Shen Li unlocked it to find a new friend request notification. The profile picture was an Alaskan Malamute, and the display name was a single letter: Y.
He raised his eyes to look at Ji Zhouye.
Ji Zhouye pressed the power button to darken his own screen. “Not going to accept?”
It was not that he did not want to accept; he wanted to accept desperately, dreamed of it even.
Before going abroad, his phone number had been frozen by Zhou Lifan, and his WeChat account had become inaccessible. After leaving the country, he had changed his phone number and registered a brand-new WeChat profile.
Though he clearly remembered Ji Zhouye’s phone number by heart, he had never dared to add him. They had already broken up by then, and he no longer had the face, let alone any reason, to intrude upon his life again.
In this fast-paced era, he figured he could just suffer through the torment alone; as long as he stayed out of the way, Ji Zhouye would forget all about him in no time.
That had been his mindset back then.
With a trembling tap, he accepted Ji Zhouye’s friend request.
A notification chime sounded from Ji Zhouye’s phone as well. Glancing down at the lit-up screen, Ji Zhouye asked offhandedly, “Do you like dogs?”
Looking at the dog on his profile picture, Shen Li answered softly, “I do.”
Judging by the fact that the picture did not look like a generic internet download, he guessed it was a pet Ji Zhouye kept himself. “What is its name?”
“Divine Power.”
Shen Li felt a sudden, sharp throbbing at his temples.
Ji Zhouye kept a dog and named it Divine Power.
Divine Power and Shen Li?
What kind of sane person gave a dog a name like that?