Ji Yuchen slept deeply that night and even had a dream, the kind that’s hard to talk about. He wasn’t sure if anyone noticed. When he woke up, the room was empty, but there was a note on the table with Xiang Chun’s phone number on it. Ji Yuchen vaguely remembered Xu Chuang telling him to get ready to go to the bride’s place before he left, so the phone number was probably for emergencies.
He got up, freshened up in the bathroom, and felt refreshed when he came out. While changing clothes, he used the hotel phone to call Xiang Chun. The phone rang for a while before it was answered. Xiang Chun told him the room number and urged him to come up quickly.
Ji Yuchen had never attended a wedding before, at least not in his current memory. He went upstairs unhurriedly and was pulled into the room by Xiang Chun, who said the bridal party was about to arrive, and if he was two minutes later, he wouldn’t be able to get in.
The bride’s room was decorated festively, with red bed sheets embroidered with gold-threaded dragons and phoenixes, and the wall behind was adorned with paper cutouts of the character for happiness. The makeup artist was making final touch-ups on the bride. Ji Yuchen went over to congratulate her, and the bride nodded in thanks, responding with a polite and courteous smile.
At that moment, a bridesmaid received a call saying the groom had arrived and was taking the elevator up. The bride immediately adjusted her posture and asked for a mirror to check her appearance, then sat elegantly on the bed.
Soon, there was a lively commotion outside, and someone started knocking on the door. A voice called out, “Wife! I’m here to pick you up!” The bridesmaids and some relatives and friends of the same age immediately gathered around, shouting back, “Show us your sincerity! Don’t think you can just take the bride away like that!”
Ji Yuchen had heard that on the day of the wedding, there’s always this kind of scene. He didn’t know why, but it seemed like if the “sincerity” wasn’t shown enough, the marriage couldn’t happen.
Red envelopes were slipped through the door crack from outside. The bridesmaid opened them to find small denomination bills and feigned anger, “With just this little, you can’t marry our Ruirui! You better go back! We’re not opening the door!”
A loud voice from the groomsmen outside scolded her, “Zhou Xiaomin! Stop causing trouble! Give me the QR code, and I’ll send you a red envelope!” The girl named Zhou Xiaomin, a good friend of the bride, laughed and said through the door, “I’m not falling for that! If I open the door to give you the QR code, you’ll rush in with everyone. Are you trying to trick me?”
Laughter erupted inside and outside the room. Two more red envelopes were slipped through, this time with even-numbered bills, but the bridesmaids were still not satisfied.
After about ten minutes of back-and-forth, a thick stack of red envelopes had been slipped through. The bride told Zhou Xiaomin, “It looks about right, let them in. Don’t keep them waiting outside too long…” Zhou Xiaomin had no choice but to glare playfully, “You’re too soft-hearted!”
She forced the groom to say some nice words outside, and finally, the door was opened. The groomsmen rushed in, including Xu Chuang, who was at the back of the group.
Xu Chuang came in and looked around the room, spotting Jiu’er in the corner, and his expression seemed to relax. He saw Jiu’er wearing his black shirt, tucked into his pants, looking slim and straight. Jiu’er was also looking at him, with a hint of daze in his eyes, and his gaze lingered for a long time.
Ji Yuchen was a bit out of it, mainly because Xu Chuang had never worn a suit in front of him before. The seemingly ordinary suit was worn with a high-end feel: the black suit jacket perfectly showcased his inverted triangle figure, and the shirt was stretched across his chest, looking like it might burst open at any moment.
Ji Yuchen stared for a long time until the noise of the games in the room pulled his attention back. Zhou Xiaomin called him over to help. The game required the groomsmen and the groom to pair up and do squats on a spiked mat.
A group of groomsmen howled that it was too heavy and suggested the bridesmaids come over so they could carry them instead. Zhou Xiaomin was unwilling and exchanged glances with the bride, who whispered, “Maybe we should change the game? It’s just for show…”
The bride clearly wanted to keep things simple, but Zhou Xiaomin insisted on the groom showing sincerity. The two sides were at an impasse, and the groom was starting to look embarrassed. Finally, he came up with a compromise:
This plan didn’t harm anyone, except for Xu Chuang—Ah Sheng suggested to Xu Chuang that he pick any guy in the room to carry and do the squats, and the game would be considered passed.
Ji Yuchen thought this Ah Sheng was clearly bullying the honest Xu Chuang, thinking he was easy to talk to, unlike his own troublesome brothers, so he kept pushing him.
The bride was a bit embarrassed and said to Xu Chuang, “You can pick anyone in the room, even a girl. How about Xiang Chun?” She looked back at Xiang Chun, who was wearing a pink knitted dress with black tights and a fluffy shawl over her shoulders.
Since she knew Xu Chuang would be a groomsman in a suit, she had a dress made overnight, thinking it would match perfectly now. Xiang Chun was a bit shy, neither agreeing nor refusing, but Xu Chuang said, “I’ll carry Jiu’er; she’s wearing a dress, so it’s inconvenient.”
He said this as he stepped over and picked Ji Yuchen up in his arms. Ji Yuchen gasped and instinctively wrapped his arms around Xu Chuang’s neck. Xu Chuang had no trouble doing ten squats while carrying him, and it was even easy for him.
He took off his shoes and stood on the spiked mat. Ji Yuchen, clinging to his neck, whispered, “Does it hurt…?” Xu Chuang gave him a reassuring smile, quickly finished the squats, and carefully set him down. The bride smoothed things over, saying, “That’s it for the game, Xiaomin, what’s next…”
Zhou Xiaomin didn’t look too satisfied but didn’t say more. After the groom found his shoes, he carried the bride out of the room. They would later move to the banquet hall for the ceremony. Xu Chuang had to follow the groom, so he and Xiang Chun went together.
Ji Yuchen wasn’t very interested in the wedding celebration because it seemed noisy, and he was quite displeased with Ah Sheng’s behavior towards Xu Chuang earlier. He followed the group downstairs but was sent back to the room halfway to get something: Xiang Chun said the bride had left an earring there and asked him to fetch it. Ji Yuchen saw the photo and thought it was a good excuse to take a break.
The earring was a Chinese-style ruby with gold beads, seemingly meant to match the morning’s traditional dress, but it wouldn’t be needed later. Ji Yuchen heard the bride was going to change into a wedding dress, so the earring was probably just to be returned to the makeup artist, and he wasn’t in a hurry. He casually searched the room.
Near the foot of the bed, the carpet was draped with a festive quilt, and Ji Yuchen found the earring underneath, likely kicked in by accident. He picked it up and looked at it in the sunlight; it was a glass piece, not even worth two yuan.
Since he was sent up to do a task, Ji Yuchen was in no rush to go back down. He planned to sneak into the ceremony later and find a random seat. He sat on the big bed, swinging his feet, thinking the bed was quite soft. He didn’t know if this place would be used later, so he didn’t dare lie down. After lingering for a while, he finally started heading downstairs.
There weren’t many people in the hotel, and Ji Yuchen didn’t expect to run into anyone familiar in the elevator, but he was surprised. A man greeted him, the lines on his forehead identical to when they met by chance before:
“Hey, little brother, we meet again, what a coincidence~”
Ji Yuchen turned to look. The man was wearing a black jacket, and when he smiled, there were a few creases at the corners of his eyes. He was the one who asked for directions in front of the temple. Ji Yuchen nodded, “Hello, what a coincidence.”
Ji Yuchen vaguely remembered this man seemed to be visiting relatives, so staying at the hotel made sense. The man asked, “What are you doing here? Why are you alone? Didn’t you come with friends?”
Ji Yuchen glanced at the floor number and replied nonchalantly, “Yeah, I’m here for a wedding.” Xu Chuang had told him not to talk to strangers, and although Ji Yuchen found it nagging, he unexpectedly remembered it now.
The man paused for two seconds, then spoke enthusiastically, “A wedding, huh? A joyous occasion. Is it your brother getting married? Or a relative or friend? Helping out must be tiring, right?” He seemed to be a naturally friendly person, chatting non-stop as the elevator descended.
Ji Yuchen answered truthfully, “Not very familiar. I came with a friend. I’ve only met the bride and groom once.” He didn’t think much of it, considering it just small talk.
The man seemed to relax a bit and got off the elevator on the same floor as Ji Yuchen. Ji Yuchen remembered pressing “2” when he entered, and the “1” button was already lit. He asked, “Weren’t you going to the first floor?”
The man replied calmly, “I was going to leave directly, but I checked the time, and it’s just about mealtime, so I’ll go to the restaurant first.” Ji Yuchen wasn’t sure if the hotel restaurant was on the second floor, but it seemed like it, as Xu Chuang had mentioned going down for breakfast if he was hungry.
He nodded half-believingly and stepped out of the elevator, unsure of where to go. The man enthusiastically offered to lead the way, asking, “Where are you headed? I’m familiar with this place, maybe I can help.”
Ji Yuchen had been sent back to get the earring, so he didn’t know where the banquet hall was. He only remembered Xiang Chun mentioning a name, something like Haiyan Hall. There were no signs at the elevator, so he needed to ask someone for directions.
Following the man’s guidance, they walked through corridors, took several turns, and the crowd thinned out. Further in, even the lights weren’t on. Ji Yuchen asked, “Is it this way? Are we going the wrong way?”
The man didn’t stop, turning back to say, “The halls are connected. It’s faster through the fire escape, right outside.” He stood in front of the fire escape door, the emergency exit sign above flickering weakly. Ji Yuchen hesitated, “I’d rather go outside. This doesn’t seem right…”
As he said this and turned around, his breath was suddenly cut off by a hand covering his mouth and nose. Ji Yuchen felt a force hit the back of his neck, and his last impression was of the rapidly rising gray-white wall, then darkness.
Half an hour earlier.
In a luxuriously decorated top-floor office, a middle-aged man in a suit was smoking a cigar, standing by the floor-to-ceiling window. He was clearly overweight, his belly as big as if he were eight months pregnant, and he had to buy extra-large shirts. But he seemed quite satisfied with his physique, seeing it as a symbol of power.
The man standing behind him was cautious, his voice timid as he probed, “Boss, should we still go through with this deal? The cops have been watching closely lately, and several clients have backed out. Unless we send it to the border, but the travel costs…”
The place was quite a distance from the border, and factoring in travel costs would mean a loss. The man said, “Hold off for now. Didn’t we just send out a batch? They’re not in a hurry…” He took a puff of his cigar, speaking slowly, then turned around, remembering something, and sat on the sofa to ask, “Feng’er, didn’t you say you had a rare find? Are you bringing it in for a look?”
The man in the black jacket was named Wang Feng, his face full of smiles, the corners of his eyes creasing. He nodded and bowed, “Yes, yes, Brother Zhang, I did see a rare find. From looks to build, it’ll definitely fetch a good price!… But he doesn’t seem to live here, and I haven’t found an opportunity yet…”
He obediently handed over a glass of wine, thinking he shouldn’t have boasted. The first time he saw such a delicate and pretty boy, he thought those buyers would surely like him. To please the boss, he promised to bring him in.
He recalled the encounter at the temple gate, regretting that he was so close to success. If it weren’t for that burly man, they could have walked a bit further, found an alley, and pinned him down.
Wang Feng sighed inwardly, feeling this was a tough job. The man glanced at him, his tone somewhat admonishing, “You haven’t been very diligent lately…” He told him to wait for news and advised him to stay out of sight and avoid the hotel for a while.
Wang Feng agreed submissively, carefully closing the door behind him, then spat towards the inside. In their line of work, there was no such thing as honor; it was all about money. A few years ago, Wang Feng had gone to the border and even sent his wife away for money, living comfortably since. A few months ago, he accidentally saw a boy and knew he had a chance to make money—the boy was pure yet alluring, a real catch, and crucially, he was a guy. Nowadays, people liked this kind of thing. He figured if he sent him to a brothel, he’d be in high demand, fetching a price that would cover several usual deals.
Since then, he started bragging to his friends in the underworld, and word got to the boss, who wanted to see him. Wang Feng, with his loose tongue, immediately agreed, but when it came time to find the boy, he was at a loss: he’d only seen him once and didn’t even know where he lived.
Half a month ago, he went out of town to visit relatives, bringing back some local specialties. Passing a bus stop, he saw a boy sitting by the roadside, lost in thought. He took a closer look, and lo and behold, it was his little cash cow! Seeing him alone, it was the perfect time to make a move.
The failed attempt replayed in his mind like a movie. Wang Feng cursed inwardly, feeling it was a shame to let such an opportunity slip away. He took the elevator down, and midway, someone got on. Wang Feng looked up, thinking fate was on his side…