Zeng Yusen didn’t even lift his eyelids; he slowly lit his cigar, but immediately choked. Smiling through his tears, he said to Andrew, “I’m not one to shoot; you’ll have to send a bodyguard to take me back!”
Xu Anlin gripped the gun handle tightly, unable to move, while Zeng Yusen seemed completely unfazed by the gun pressed against the back of his neck.
Andrew smiled and said, “Zeng Yusen, you Han Chinese have a saying: ‘ Open the window and speak bright words [1]To speak frankly jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3578576_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3578576_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. Where is Taylor’s four billion dollars?”
Xu Anlin’s heart pounded. Taylor was the biggest smuggling king in the Western Sahara and the largest source of funding for terrorism in the region. He had long been an enemy of other countries in the area, especially Morocco, which had offered the world’s largest assassination bounty—a hundred million US dollars.
─
Therefore, Taylor was being hunted by almost every top assassin in the world, including Interpol. A year ago, he mysteriously disappeared, leading many to speculate that he might be hiding in the terrorist haven of Northern Europe. Rumors circulated that Taylor had nearly four billion US dollars in illicit funds in West Africa, and their whereabouts were even more frantic.
“We are indeed looking for a collaborator, if…”
“Tell me its whereabouts! I’m not here to negotiate!” Andrew decisively interrupted Zeng Yusen.
“Then we have nothing more to say…” Zeng Yusen glanced at his watch expressionlessly and said, “You still have twenty seconds!”
Andrew’s lips tightened even more; his hard-edged face, devoid of any smile, became terrifying.
The black-clad bodyguard behind him pressed a gun against Zeng Yusen’s head, speaking in broken Chinese, “Mr. Andrew is asking you a question!” Seeing Zeng Yusen remain silent, he glanced at Andrew’s expression and suddenly fired, striking Zeng Yusen in the leg!
Blood instantly gushed from Zeng Yusen’s calf, and his face turned deathly pale. But after a moment, he simply said calmly, “Fifteen seconds!”
Andrew’s expression changed drastically. His pupils contracted, and Xu Anlin, seeing the black-clad man behind Zeng Yusen raise his gun again, quickly blurted out, “Zeng Yusen doesn’t know anything about the Zeng family!”
Andrew turned around, and when his gaze fell upon Xu Anlin’s face, Xu Anlin immediately felt the pressure from that pair of silver-gray eyes.
“Zeng…Zeng Yusen has never been valued by his father; he knows nothing about the Zeng family’s business.”
Andrew sneered, taking a blue paper rose from his pocket. “Is this the rose you sent me?”
Zeng Yusen coughed and smiled. “So Mr. Andrew doesn’t like roses. Next time, send something else.”
Andrew walked up to Zeng Yusen, lowered his head, and grinned. “This blue rose is exactly the same as the one left at Taylor’s disappearance. Zeng Yusen, considering you’re quite attractive, hand over Taylor and the forty billion dollars, and I’ll spare your life…” As he spoke, he slowly ran his fingers through Zeng Yusen’s dark hair, gripping it tightly, forcing Zeng Yusen to look up.
Zeng Yusen chuckled, seemingly finding Andrew’s words amusing. He laughed, “Although I do like men, you’re too big for me; it makes me lose my appetite!”
Hearing this, Xu Anlin felt a sudden rush of blood to his head. He didn’t know if it was Zeng Yusen’s provocative words that triggered him, or if it was Zeng Yusen’s final confession of his sexuality that enraged him. Thinking of the countless times Zeng Yusen had insisted on sharing his bed and even bathing with him over the past decade, he blushed furiously. He almost forgot that Andrew was right in front of him, wanting to rush up and beat up Zeng Yusen.
Before Andrew could react, a burst of machine gun fire erupted from the sky, instantly taking out the three men in black on the deck. Andrew reacted swiftly, leaping aside to dodge the aerial barrage. He saw Zeng Yusen turn back and say to him with a smirk, “I told you already, you only have three minutes.”
Andrew tried to speak, but the helicopter fire overhead was too intense, preventing him from even lifting his head.
Zeng Yusen smiled through the firelight and said, “Now, do I have the leverage to discuss cooperation with you?”
Andrew raised his hand and laughed, “OK, cooperating with a young talent like you is certainly a pleasant thing. You can tell them to cease fire.”
Zeng Yusen smiled and said, “I prefer discussing cooperation with people by the firelight; it’s more interesting that way!”
He turned his head and exclaimed, “That was a large uproar; it has attracted the British maritime police. Maybe another time!” As he spoke, he struggled to his feet, beckoning to the stiff Xu Anlin, “Bodyguard, come help me up!”
Xu Anlin seemed to have only just realized what was happening. He walked over and punched Zeng Yusen hard in the face. Zeng Yusen staggered from the punch, coughed, and spat out a little blood. A blush flashed across his fair face as he said, “Tsk, you’re always trying to act cute, with so many people watching…”
Xu Anlin was furious. Before he could even speak, a rope ladder was lowered from the sky. Zeng Yusen climbed up and whispered, “If you don’t run now, the maritime police will arrest you. You don’t want a criminal record, do you?”
Xu Anlin was startled and quickly hoisted onto the rope ladder. As they were pulled higher, Andrew suddenly shouted from below, “How should I contact you?”
Zeng Yusen looked down, smiled, and uttered a single word: “SMONAT!”
Xu Anlin saw that the pilot was of Indian descent, reeking of curry. He turned around and said with displeasure, “Lingering for so long is preventing me from getting back to running my business!”
Xu Anlin suddenly realized that the familiar Indian man was the owner of the all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurant!
Zeng Yusen laughed, “With your excellent cooking skills, those who didn’t get to eat today must be banging against the wall!”
The Indian owner said smugly, “That’s right!”
Xu Anlin couldn’t help but snort softly. The Indian owner’s face darkened, and he said, “What are you snorting about?”
Zeng Yusen smiled and said, “Keximi, don’t mind him. He just likes to snort!”
Xu Anlin seemed to realize his own inappropriateness, hesitated for a moment, and then murmured, “Thank you for rescuing us today.”
“No need to thank me. Shiva has already sold himself to our family; he’s already one of us. Of course, I won’t let him die.”
“Shiva?” Xu Anlin blurted out curiously. Shiva was an Indian god who embodies both creation and destruction; he hadn’t expected this Indian to refer to Zeng Yusen as their god.
Keximi shrugged and said, “My daughter is named Pavadi (note: the wife of the Hindu god Shiva), so her husband is naturally Shiva.” He turned to Zeng Yusen and asked, “When are you going to marry Pavadi?”
Xu Anlin stared wide-eyed at Zeng Yusen, who nonchalantly replied, “I’m not in a hurry. Why are you?”
Keximi scoffed, “We have an Indian proverb: having a daughter is like planting a seed in someone else’s garden. The sooner she marries, the less I lose.”
“He likes men!” Xu Anlin blurted out.
“I know!”
“Then why are you letting your daughter marry him!” Xu Anlin’s face flushed crimson.
The helicopter landed over an empty lumberyard. Keximi’s dark face looked like a bitter gourd as he said, “Do you think I’d willingly marry my daughter to a man who likes men!”
As soon as the helicopter stopped, a young Indian woman rushed over. Seeing Zeng Yusen’s bleeding leg, her large eyes immediately filled with tears. She carefully helped Zeng Yusen up and asked, “Shiva, are you alright?”
Zeng Yusen replied earnestly, “Pavadi, don’t be like this. You cried and now smudged your eyeliner. Look… how many hours did it take to draw that… it looks like an abstract painting.”
Xu Anlin couldn’t help but chuckle. Pavadi turned and glared at him fiercely; her entire demeanor changed. She became sharp and ruthless, exuding the typical aura of a gangster woman.
That was Xu Anlin’s first encounter with Pavadi, and that first impression made him always cautious in his subsequent interactions.
Zeng Yusen affectionately supported her shoulder as they walked towards the brick building at the lumberyard. Xu Anlin hesitated for a moment, then followed. Pavadi had already arranged for a doctor to wait there. Zeng Yusen’s gunshot wound wasn’t serious; the bullet had only grazed his leg. Clearly, Andrew didn’t really want his leg.
Xu Anlin sat in a corner of the room, listlessly sipping his milk tea. Before, he only needed to show the slightest displeasure to attract Zeng Yusen’s attention. But now, he was clearly unhappy, yet Zeng Yusen didn’t even glance at him.
Xu Anlin suddenly felt a sense of loss, something he had never experienced with Zeng Yusen before. He didn’t believe he truly had the same kind of unusual feelings for Zeng Yusen; he was just not used to it… How to put it? It was like his toy suddenly no longer belonged to him.
He sighed, got up, and went to the window to look at the sky. His mother said England had very blue skies—yes, provided it didn’t rain every five minutes.
Even though his back was to Zeng Yusen, he could feel Zeng Yusen watching him again, and he smiled involuntarily. Not because Zeng Yusen was looking at him, but because he had won the emotional battle for the first time.
Xu Anlin had always wanted to beat Zeng Yusen, especially in emotions. Perhaps it was because his mother had lost to his father, so Xu Anlin could not afford to lose this battle.
When Zeng Yusen and Xu Anlin returned to the Zeng family home, the patriarch, unusually, waited for them in the hall. A-Gui stood expressionlessly behind him.
Zeng Yusen, dragging his injured leg, casually sat down on the sofa, propping his chin on his hand and looking at his father with a half-smile. Xu Anlin felt that the patriarch seemed to subconsciously avoid his eyes.
He seemed a little old. A man’s handsomeness and a woman’s beauty fade with time, leaving only a blurred shadow. Looking at his graying temples and sagging features, Xu Anlin wondered if his mother would still shield him from bullets if she encountered this man now.
As he thought this, a sharp, indescribable pain pierced his heart, mixed with a malicious pleasure.
“Your…leg, is it alright?” the old man coughed and asked.
“It’s not crippled,” Zeng Yusen replied with a smile.
The old man hesitated for a moment, a look of concern on his face, and said, “Should we have another doctor take a look?”
Zeng Yusen, usually all smiles, suddenly frowned. He remained silent, pulled a cigarette from the pack on the table, lit it, took a few deep drags, and then said with a hint of sarcasm, “This expression doesn’t suit you. Go ahead, tell me you want to know about Blue Rose.”
The old man’s expression faltered slightly, but it was too brief. His face quickly returned to normal, and he smiled, “Yusen, we’re all family.”
Zeng Yusen, having smoked too hard, coughed and forcefully stubbed out his cigarette on the Chinese-style, hand-carved sofa chair. He smiled and said, “Indeed, we’re family.”
The old man waved his hand, seemingly unperturbed by Zeng Yusen’s impolite tone, and said, “I’m not deliberately preventing you from getting involved in Taylor’s affairs. It’s just that all the major black money dealers in the world are investigating this money, and I’m afraid something might happen to you. Since you’ve already met Taylor in person, of course, you can join in.”
Zeng Yusen tapped his cigarette case with his long, slender fingers, seemingly indifferent.
Xu Anlin, seeing the old man still so gentle and affectionate, a stark contrast to his past imposing and bloodthirsty demeanor, couldn’t help but think that perhaps he was using this mask to deceive his own mother… and Zeng Yusen’s mother as well.
Zeng Yusen smiled and licked his slightly dry lips, saying, “If you want more information from me, you’ll be disappointed. In fact, when I met Taylor, I didn’t know who he was. I just played a hand of cards with him in a bar and won something from him.”
The old man couldn’t help but blurt out, “What thing?”
Zeng Yusen, resting his chin on his hand, chuckled and said, “The manual on how to fold the blue rose.”
The old man was rather skeptical, and Xu Anlin was equally suspicious. Zeng Yusen smiled and said, “So you should trust yourself. Taylor sent someone to contact you, right? Just do as he says.”
After he finished speaking, he struggled to his feet and slowly went upstairs.
His figure disappeared at the second-floor entrance. Only then did the old man turn his gaze away, glance at Xu Anlin, and say, “You did well this time, but I want something more valuable. Stay close to the Young Master.”
Xu Anlin bowed while affirming. As he went upstairs, he noticed a hint of unease in A-Gui’s eyes. He pretended not to see A-Gui’s gaze and went straight into his room.
Xu Anlin had barely entered the room when he was abruptly pushed down and pinned to the bed. Looking up, he saw Zeng Yusen staring at him with a smirk.
Perhaps out of guilt, Xu Anlin nervously avoided his eyes, shifting his body and muttering impatiently, “Get off, you pervert!”
“Let’s do a multiple-choice question. There was a polar bear in the Amazon. One day, he was given a choice: A is to become human, and B is to find happiness. If you were that polar bear, would you choose A or B?”
“You’re insane! I told you, there are no polar bears in the Amazon!”
Zeng Yusen pressed closer to Xu Anlin, his face very close. His warm breath made Xu Anlin tense. Looking into his clear, dark eyes, Xu Anlin heard him repeatedly ask, “A or B? A? B?”
Xu Anlin blurted out, “B, alright, B!”
Zeng Yusen smiled and whispered, “Don’t forget your choice today, and never forget your heart’s sincere choice.” Suddenly, he leaned down and kissed him.
Xu Anlin shuddered. He had imagined countless times the intimacy that crossed the line between them, each time mentally reciting his own righteous refusal and fierce retaliation. But now he was completely powerless, paralyzed, only managing to mutter words like “bastard” intermittently.
Zeng Yusen had already unbuttoned his shirt, revealing Xu Anlin’s white chest and rosy nipples. He smacked his lips in admiration, then lowered his head and took a deep breath. This time, Xu Anlin’s curses became distorted, just mumbling incoherently.
Zeng Yusen half-lifted him, placing him in front of the dressing mirror, supporting his hands in the mirror, and chuckled, “You can see yourself more clearly this way.”
Xu Anlin looked at his reflection in the mirror, his face flushed, his eyes glazed, his sweat-drenched black hair hanging over his forehead, his shirt half-open, his nipples red and erect from being sucked. Both his expression and posture exuded a pleading invitation.
Before Xu Anlin could even react, Zeng Yusen had already loosened his belt and ripped down his trousers and underwear.
His pent-up erection, already on the verge of exploding, filled Xu Anlin with both shame and an urgent desire for release. Zeng Yusen grasped it, licking Xu Anlin’s earlobe, and asked with a smile, “Want me to help you?”
Xu Anlin blushed even more, stammering for a moment. Zeng Yusen whispered in his ear, “What did you say? I didn’t hear you!”
Xu Anlin was furious, yet helplessly whispered, trembling, “Yes!” Zeng Yusen held his waist with one hand, his legs clamping tightly around Xu Anlin’s buttocks, while his other hand moved up and down. Soon, Xu Anlin ejaculated, white fluid spraying onto the mirror, carrying an indescribable lewd connotation.
Xu Anlin’s legs went weak, and he leaned limply against Zeng Yusen. He felt Zeng Yusen apply something to his anus, but he was too weak to ask what was going on until a sharp, piercing pain pierced his rear, at which point he realized what Zeng Yusen was doing.
The previous pleasure vanished instantly, and Xu Anlin suddenly felt a surge of strength. He twisted his body, roaring angrily, “I’ll fuck you! You act like I’m a toilet; I’ll slice you up!”
In the mirror, Zeng Yusen’s face was as black as a bitter gourd. He desperately held Xu Anlin down, trying to stop him from moving, saying, “It hurts, it hurts! Relax, relax!”
After a struggle, the two were back on the bed. Zeng Yusen quickly stroked between Xu Anlin’s legs. Xu Anlin’s newly regained strength seemed to have vanished into thin air. Zeng Yusen moved along with his body, experiencing both pain and pleasure.
After a fierce lovemaking session, the two lay exhausted on the bed, panting. Zeng Yusen looked up at the ceiling and fumbled for a cigarette.
Xu Anlin lay on the bed, his heart still pounding. After a long while, he turned and asked, “Since you didn’t actually have any dealings with Taylor, why did you provoke Andrew?”
Zeng Yusen turned his head, looked at him, and said with a half-smile, “Because it’s more fun this way.”
Xu Anlin scoffed in disbelief.
Zeng Yusen turned back to look at the ceiling, took a drag of his cigarette, then blew rings into the air, and laughed, “Do you want to know where this money is?”
Xu Anlin turned back. Zeng Yusen’s eyes were clear. He said calmly, “That forty billion US dollars is in the Zeng house.”
Xu Anlin gasped, instinctively trying to sit up, but quickly collapsed back down in pain. He gritted his teeth and said, “Forty billion? How is that possible?”
Zeng Yusen smiled and said, “Forty billion isn’t much… It can be anywhere.”
Xu Anlin’s eyes lit up, and he said in a trembling voice, “That’s not US dollars; it’s diamonds worth forty billion US dollars!”
Zeng Yusen narrowed his eyes, turned his head, winked his left eye at Xu Anlin, and smiled, “You got it.”
Xu Anlin frowned.
Zeng Yusen took a drag of his cigarette, continuing to exhale rings. After a long pause, he chuckled and said, “The Master must be racking his brains now, trying to figure out how to safely get those diamonds out. Andrew may not be the most capable, but he’s enough to make him panic.” He suddenly laughed so hard he gasped, “Just thinking about the Master constantly scheming makes me laugh!”
Xu Anlin, lost in thought, was interrupted by his inexplicable laughter. He couldn’t help but snort softly, saying, “Then why don’t you find someone stronger to give him an even bigger headache?”
Zeng Yusen turned back to Xu Anlin, staring intently. “Because he’s the closest and I don’t have much time.”
Xu Anlin felt a chill run down his spine under Zeng Yusen’s gaze. He waved his hand impatiently and said, “Go away, go smoke outside; it stinks!”
Zeng Yusen looked dejected, sighed, and stood up, saying, “All the beauties in the world are heartless; once they’ve crossed the river, they’ll destroy the bridge…”
Hearing this, Xu Anlin remembered the throbbing pain in his rear and felt a surge of anger. He kicked out, saying, “Get lost!” But the kick, still throbbing with pain in his anus, landed lightly and without force on Zeng Yusen.
Zeng Yusen laughed heartily, then gave Xu Anlin a few more hard gropes before leaving.
A-Gui stood at the door, looking embarrassed. Zeng Yusen didn’t know how long he had been standing there, but he greeted him with a nonchalant smile, asking, “Did you need something?”
A-Gui coughed and said in a low voice, “Master wants to see you.”
Zeng Yusen gestured for him to proceed, saying, “Then please lead the way.”
A-Gui seemed to know that this Young Master had always been mischievous, so he didn’t bother with him. He coughed lightly and walked ahead, leading the way to the end of the corridor, where he opened the door to the study.
The room was decorated in the old-fashioned Chinese style. The carved mahogany furniture gleamed with a smooth, oily sheen, and a standing clock in the corner chimed rhythmically. The Master sat behind a large mahogany desk, so large that it was more like he was slumped in there than sitting.
“Yusen…” The Master took out his pipe, smiled, and gestured to the chair opposite him, saying, “Sit!”
Zeng Yusen instinctively reached for the cigarette case on the desk, but the Master tapped his hand with his pipe, sighing, “You should smoke less!”
The old man seemed momentarily taken aback after speaking, but Zeng Yusen unusually withdrew his hand. The old man seemed to gather his emotions before speaking gently, “Yusen, I hope you can do something for me.”
Zeng Yusen looked up at him quietly.
The old man’s tone was filled with helplessness. “Yusen, I know you’ve been blaming me for your mother’s situation. Actually, there are many things you don’t know. All these years, I’ve kept you away from the Zeng family because I followed your mother’s wishes… She was very against you getting involved in the underworld.”
He stepped out from behind his desk, walked around to face Zeng Yusen, and gripped his shoulder, sighing deeply. “But now, I can only ask for your help. After all, you are my son, my only son.”
Zeng Yusen didn’t answer, but opened his cigarette case, took out a cigarette, didn’t light it, just held it to his nose, and then took a deep drag before simply asking, “How do you want me to help you?”
The old man squeezed Zeng Yusen’s shoulder tightly, his voice seemingly a little agitated, and said, “Thank you!” His tone lightened, and he turned back to his desk, saying, “Actually, we’ve been laundering money for Taylor for at least twenty years. Speaking of which… he was also a good friend of your mother’s.”
He seemed to sigh slightly, and seeing Zeng Yusen’s lack of reaction, he deliberately lowered his voice and said, “Actually, the rumored four billion US dollars is fake. The real one… is diamonds worth four billion US dollars.”
“Why not find a buyer sooner?” Zeng Yusen put his cigarette back into the luxurious gold-plated case.
The old man smiled bitterly. “Firstly, the price of these diamonds is too high, and we can’t find a suitable buyer. Secondly, Taylor sent us an Israeli encrypted T-S101 safe. Unless you know the combination and have a special key, this safe will explode no matter how you try to open it, blowing the safe and the person opening it to smithereens.”
Looking at Zeng Yusen’s expressionless face, the old man continued, “Now Taylor has only given us the safe, but not the key or the combination. So these diamonds have become a hot potato, offering no benefit and carrying a huge risk.”
Zeng Yusen said with a half-smile, “Then why not return them to Taylor?”
The old man put his pipe back in his mouth, took a puff, and sighed, “At first, I was considering our twenty-year friendship, then I really wanted to give it back to him, but Taylor suddenly disappeared.”
He paused for a long time before saying, “However, we recently received a message from him again. He sent someone to deliver the key, and I want you to go and collect it.”
Xu Anlin, inside the house, suddenly heard piano music coming from the downstairs hall. It was Schumann’s. Xu Anlin couldn’t help but smile. How discordant the quirky Zeng Yusen and the romantic Schumann seemed, yet the gentle, flowing melody sounded surprisingly smooth.
Xu Anlin’s features were extremely handsome, especially when he smiled; at first glance, he possessed a simple, soft, and exquisite beauty.
He took a deep breath, his smile vanished, and he pulled a gun from under his pillow. It was a CZ2075, the only micro pistol produced by the Czech company RAMI. He carefully inspected the magazine firing pin, then put it in his pocket and opened his bedroom door.
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