Wait, given his current identity as a young master who was once wealthy, should he have been on a helicopter before? He had already claimed he had, so he could not go back on it now. Star stopped overthinking and waited to board.
Once inside the helicopter, Star buckled Vincent’s seatbelt first before his own. It was a matter of professional conduct to take care of his benefactor. He made sure the red buckle was facing up, listened for the definitive click, and confirmed, “Did you hear that?”
Vincent patted his head. “I heard it.”
On the other side, Fabian tried to mimic the gesture, but he had no idea how to operate the belts.
The ground crew closed the door and performed a final check. The cabin dipped slightly, and their view opened up as they ascended. Once in the air, Fabian immediately started taking photos with his phone. Due to weight distribution, the two pairs could not sit together. Star was seated opposite Qin Yue, with Fabian by his side.
Star tried his best to dodge the camera lens. However, Qin Yue’s gaze was becoming increasingly bizarre. To his left was a camera lens, and opposite him was a gaze that felt even more intrusive. Star suddenly found the city below incredibly interesting and nearly pressed his face against the window.
Qin Yue pressed the left button on his headset and said in Spanish, “Vincent, I miss my first love so much. It seems no matter how I play or how indulgent I am, I cannot forget him.”
Vincent pressed his headset. “Why do you not try skydiving?”
Qin Yue replied, “That is a good idea. I will go skydiving today.”
Vincent ignored him, but Qin Yue continued rambling. “When I was with him yesterday, it just did not feel right. I tried three times, but it still was not right. I would rather go back to the days when Julián would let me hold his hand and be happy for half a day. And this Fabian is too…”
Vincent interrupted him. “Qin Yue, we are not the only ones on this plane who speak Spanish.”
Qin Yue looked around. Including the pilot, there were only a few people on board. He wondered if it mattered whether the pilot spoke Spanish or not.
“Cipher speaks Spanish.”
Star suddenly found the scenery on the ground even more fascinating.
“You must be joking.”
Yes, it is truly beautiful.
“Cipher, Vincent bought chili-flavored lubricant yesterday.”
It is truly beautiful, truly beautiful, truly beautiful.
Qin Yue shrugged. “I told you, he cannot understand.”
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
Qin Yue became even more unrestrained, spending half the time reminiscing about his first love and the other half discussing his current sex life. He almost detailed exactly how many milliliters they had produced the previous night.
Star pressed his face firmly against the glass. Someone, please, just poke my eardrums out.
Vincent seemed to have forgotten his Spanish, focusing entirely on the scenery. Finally, the helicopter flew into a mountain range. A waterfall hung in the distance, and the pilot slowed the craft to hover near it, explaining the view. The fresh scent of mist filled the cabin, and the roar of the water grew deafening, the magnificent landscape looming right before them. Even Star found it easy to relax in the face of such beauty.
A few minutes later, the waterfall faded from view. The helicopter descended slowly toward an open field; due to environmental regulations, it could not land completely and hovered about a meter above the ground. Vincent stepped out first and reached for Star, who jumped into his arms.
A few locals led some horses over. Qin Yue introduced them, “This is my friend’s private estate. The place is huge, so we have to ride horses.”
Fabian’s phone storage was nearly full, and while Qin Yue was busy teaching him how to ride, Vincent and Star had already ridden off on their own horses. Qin Yue chased after them, while Fabian followed behind, led by a local resident.
Star did not want to listen to Qin Yue’s chatter, so he slowed down to lead Fabian. Qin Yue glanced backward and whispered to Vincent, “It seems your guy was truly wealthy in the past. To be this comfortable on a helicopter and ride with such proper form, his family must have been influential. Which young master did you manage to pick up?”
Star rode with elegance and ease on his tall horse, forming a sharp contrast to the timid Fabian beside him.
Vincent looked away. “His surname is Li.”
“Li?” Qin Yue ran through a list of names. “There is no one of note among the prominent Li families.” He lowered his voice. “Is he illegitimate?”
Vincent replied, “No, his family is from the North.”
“That explains it,” Qin Yue nodded knowingly. “We really do not know much about the families from the North.”
The group rode to the waterfall they had seen earlier. Viewing it from the ground was a different kind of shock. The spray hit their faces, the sound boomed, and small rainbows danced dreamily in the sunlight. Everyone enjoyed it, except for Star, who seemed distracted.
Unlike the helicopter, being on the ground meant being in close proximity to the forest. The humidity of the leaves and the raw, earthy smell of the soil made Star feel restless and repulsed.
Vincent embraced him from behind. His pupils looked lighter in the sunlight, and he was shrouded in a soft glow. “Nature phobia?”
Star was not surprised by Vincent’s observation and nodded readily. It was not exactly a phobia, but it was close enough.
Vincent pulled him close, trying his best to shield him from the noises of nature. “We are almost there. Hang in there a little longer.”
Star leaned against Vincent’s chest, feeling his steady, powerful heartbeat. The muddy sensation under his feet no longer felt quite so unbearable. Vincent was truly gentle, gentle and attentive, and the key was that Star did not calculate this; Vincent was simply that kind of person.
For the rest of the itinerary, Vincent did not let Qin Yue linger, and they reached a ranch before noon. The ranch was vast, featuring livestock areas, a shooting range, and an orchard. After resting, Fabian chattered away, asking Qin Yue to teach him how to shoot.
Star feigned ignorance and disinterest, playing with a gun for a moment before stopping. After all, a young master from China who had been studying since arriving in the U.S. could not possibly know how to use firearms.
Qin Yue hoisted an AR-15. “Come on, let us have a competition.”
When Vincent picked up his rifle, his temperament changed. His eyes remained gentle, but his firm jawline and straight posture matched the black assault rifle perfectly; he looked handsome.
Fabian sat with Star, drinking fruit juice and chatting intermittently. Initially, Fabian had been somewhat hostile toward Star, but he had opened up because he had not seen Vincent spend a single cent on Star over the past two days. Furthermore, if Vincent and Qin Yue ever decided to swap partners, it would be good to have a solid relationship with Star.
Fabian admired Vincent’s figure. “I have to tell you, my original goal was Vincent, but I never expected you to intercept him.”
Americans were straightforward like that, and Star had no objections; it was normal for kept men to discuss their benefactors.
“Qin Yue is not bad either.”
Fabian rolled his eyes. “He is not bad, but he sleeps with me while calling out his ex’s name. It is only because my acting is good that I can pretend I heard nothing, but that one sentence of his made me go completely limp.”
Star traced the rim of his cup, staring at the juice inside, lost in thought. “Is Qin Yue still unable to let go?”
The sound of gunfire nearby was loud, but Fabian was not afraid of being heard; his voice was clear and obviously angry.
“It is more than just not letting go. He treats me like a substitute. He asks me to add condensed milk to his coffee, makes me wear a cross, and takes me to Mexican restaurants to eat. He is out of his mind!”
After he finished, Fabian looked around timidly.
Star sighed softly. “Is he generous with money?”
Mentioning that cheered Fabian up. “That is the one good thing; he bought me quite a lot of things yesterday.”
Star’s pupils darkened. “Do you want to get more?”
Fabian felt as if the person in front of him had suddenly changed; despite having the same appearance, Star suddenly exuded a transparent understanding of the world. “What do you want to do?”
The shooting session ended. Qin Yue, satisfied with his fun, washed his hands with Vincent and headed to the main house, but they did not see their partners. Upon asking, they learned the two had gone to the livestock farm. When they arrived, Fabian was painting on a canvas, while Star sat quietly nearby.
Qin Yue looked surprised. “You can paint?”
Fabian painted seriously. “Of course, I am an art student.”
The brushstrokes on the canvas were bold and unconstrained. From a distance, one could tell they represented grass and livestock, and there was an unexplainable beauty to it.
Qin Yue was puzzled. “Where did you get the paint?”
Fabian kicked the bucket beside him. “Sourced from the environment.”
The bucket contained crushed flowers and leaves, along with some strangely colored soil. Many of the colors were mixed on the spot. Fabian put down his brush, pricked his fingertip with a blood-glucose needle, and added a drop of blood to the cloak of the tiny figure on the canvas. The entire painting instantly came to life.
Fabian took a photo with his phone, shook the painting a few times to let it set, and handed it to Qin Yue. “Enjoy it. The blood will turn black, the grass juice will turn yellow; this painting only has a life of a few hours.”
Qin Yue rubbed the edge of the canvas, the blood-red dot looking particularly bright and glaring. By the time he looked up, Fabian and Star were already far away.
Qin Yue elbowed Vincent. “I think I might have found a gem?”
Vincent’s gaze remained fixed on the slender figure. “As long as you are happy.”
Qin Yue finally stopped mentioning his first love in every other sentence. During the barbecue that evening, he was very attentive to Fabian, and Fabian no longer acted like a submissive sycophant; he even dared to roll his eyes at Qin Yue occasionally.
Yet, that was exactly what Qin Yue enjoyed; the more impatient Fabian was with him, the more he liked it.
Vincent pulled Star to the sink to wash their hands, using a soft brush to scrub under the fingernails.
“Why?”
“Why what?” Star asked, knowing perfectly well what he meant.
Vincent did not elaborate, instead drying his hands. “It is fine.”
It was a conversation between immortals; others did not understand, but they did.
After that encounter, Fabian loved being around Star and soon dragged him away to pick frangipani and take photos. Qin Yue handed Vincent a cold beer. “Brother, how old is yours? Why is he always like a mute?”
The beer can felt cold in his hand, reminding him of a certain person’s chilly wrists. Vincent opened the beer and took a sip. “Twenty-two.”
Qin Yue clicked his tongue. “You should be careful.”
Vincent frowned in confusion. “Careful of what?”
Qin Yue leaned lazily against his chair. “Careful of raising a beautiful little waste of space. He does not attend school and has no means of earning a living. When you eventually get bored of him, he will not know how to survive. At that point, even if he does not want to, he will have to cling to you to survive.”
Vincent chuckled softly. “He has plenty of tricks.”
However, Cipher was only with him because of his mother’s medical expenses. Once that goal was met, he probably would not need him anymore. He might as well send him to school; it would save a lot of trouble.