Meeting Again
Qiao Yi was an extremely proud man. This was the first time Song Bai had ever seen him so disheveled. In Song Bai’s mind, Qiao Yi would never speak in a voice that sounded so close to begging. He only ever gave orders.
As if afraid Song Bai would vanish, he suddenly yanked him into his arms. The force sent Song Bai crashing into him, nearly making him throw up blood.
“I know they were lying to me. You’re not dead, are you?” He held Song Bai as if he meant to crush him into his body. Song Bai was in so much pain he couldn’t help letting out a muffled groan.
But Qiao Yi had no intention of letting go. He looked as though he’d just crawled out of a vat of liquor, and the pungent smell of alcohol made Song Bai’s head ache.
Song Bai said nothing. He stood quietly where he was, letting Qiao Yi cling to him in a drunken frenzy. He knew that if he dared to resist now, Qiao Yi would beat him to death, then keep raving with his corpse in his arms.
Because Qiao Yi was a madman, and Song Bai knew it.
“Qi Jun, please don’t leave. I won’t hit you anymore. I swear I’ll never hit you again. If you like school, I’ll let you go. I won’t lock you up anymore. You can do whatever you want, as long as you don’t leave…”
His voice was choked with sobs Song Bai couldn’t understand. The pleas sounded so raw they might as well have been bleeding, and Song Bai found them ridiculous.
What kind of man was Qiao Yi? Begging someone? All he ever did was demand that everyone do things his way!
Back then, he’d locked Qi Jun in a room for three whole days, leaving him with nowhere to turn for help. For all those years, Qi Jun hadn’t had a single good night’s sleep, tormented by Qiao Yi. Maybe dying had been a relief.
What right did Qiao Yi have to beg him to stay? If it weren’t for him, Qi Jun might have had a peaceful life now, quiet and content.
“Why don’t you just die?” After a long silence, Song Bai forced the words through his teeth, slowly, but with chilling calm.
Snow began to fall from the sky. A flake landed on the tip of Song Bai’s nose and melted at once, cold and damp.
It was the first snowfall of the year.
Qiao Yi’s whole body went rigid. Then he suddenly laughed like a lunatic, a sinister laugh that sent a chill through anyone who heard it. He leaned close to Song Bai’s ear. Song Bai could feel the scorching heat of his breath as Qiao Yi said in a strange, mocking tone, “I’m not dying. If I die, you’ll end up with someone else, so I can’t die. Even if I’m going to die, I’ll strangle you first. We’ll die together.”
Song Bai sighed, unwilling to explain any further. “Let go of me. You’ve got the wrong person.”
“Qi Jun, let’s go to the Netherlands. You’ve always wanted to go, haven’t you? We can get married there and raise a whole flock of sheep. If you still want to teach, we can open a little school of our own and teach the local children about Confucius and all that. With your education, you’ll have no trouble. And then we…”
“I hate the Netherlands. Anywhere you are makes me sick.”
“I know you hate me. That’s all right. I like you, and that’s enough. I’ll love you twice as much, to make up for how much you hate me. I only want you. I don’t want anything else. I only want you…”
He’d never cared what anyone else thought, and he just kept rambling on. Song Bai could feel himself growing colder and colder, while Qiao Yi’s body was like a fire, burning hot against him.
Song Bai tried to pull away without drawing attention to it. Qiao Yi’s eyes suddenly fixed on him. “What are you trying to do?”
“Sir, you’ve mistaken me for someone else. I need to leave. Please let go.”
“Leave? Where the hell do you think you can go? You’re mine! Where do you think you’re going?” Qiao Yi sprang up as if he’d been set off by a blast of dynamite. He narrowed his eyes at Song Bai, his voice suddenly shrill and piercing. “You’re not going anywhere. Let me think… I had a chain made. How about I put it around your neck? Your neck is so slender and white. It would look beautiful on you. Yes, I should lock you up. You’re so disobedient, always running off. Better to keep you chained up.”
Qiao Yi gently stroked Song Bai’s neck. It was so slender he could encircle it with one hand. All he had to do was squeeze, and he could kill him. His expression was utterly besotted. Slowly, his hand moved up and stopped at Song Bai’s pale pink lips, rubbing them lightly. “It’s only been a little while, but why do you look different…”
“You’ve mistaken me for someone else. I don’t know anyone named Qi Jun,” Song Bai repeated, his expression unchanged. “I never have.”
But Qiao Yi wasn’t listening. Or rather, he couldn’t hear anything except what he wanted to hear. He leaned in and pressed himself tightly against Song Bai, his breath reeking of alcohol against Song Bai’s face.
Song Bai knew Qiao Yi was perfectly capable of forcing himself on him right there. He began to tremble and stumbled back under Qiao Yi’s weight, until he was pressed against the flower bed.
As if he really meant to devour Song Bai, Qiao Yi bit down on his lips. Pain flared through Song Bai, but Qiao Yi swallowed the muffled sound he made. His tongue forced its way inside, churning until Song Bai felt sick. Qiao Yi had one of Song Bai’s hands in a tight grip. He’d grown up in the military compound, and was far stronger than most. Song Bai couldn’t break free.
Qiao Yi’s hand slid down. With practiced ease, he pulled down Song Bai’s zipper, then slipped his hand inside his underwear and grabbed him by the most sensitive part. Song Bai sucked in a sharp breath.
Song Bai’s free hand found something hard. He didn’t even stop to see what it was. Without a word, he swung it at Qiao Yi’s head. Qiao Yi went rigid, and blood burst from the wound.
Song Bai stared at Qiao Yi’s bloodshot eyes, wide with disbelief, his own mind blank. He struck him again. This time, Qiao Yi dropped to the ground with a thud, and blood quickly stained the pavement.
Song Bai was breathing hard. He backed away two steps, staring at the man on the ground as if Qiao Yi might spring up and strangle him at any moment.
The idea that murder had to be paid for with one’s life no longer held any threat for Song Bai. He’d already died once. Now, a voice kept shouting in his head: Kill him! Kill him! You can always pay with your own life!
But in the end, Song Bai didn’t do it. The brick fell from his hand, hitting the ground with a loud crack in the dead of night. He shot Qiao Yi a look of disgust, backed away two steps, then turned and left without looking back.
The snowfall quickly grew heavier. Ice formed in Song Bai’s hair. He looked around, then finally went into McDonald’s.
There were hardly any customers at this hour, just the staff, so Song Bai stood out as soon as he walked in. A young woman in her twenties instinctively called, “Welcome!” Then she looked up and saw how disheveled he was.
Song Bai’s smile was strained. He smoothed his hair, feeling awkward.
The young woman immediately understood why he was there. People who worked at twenty-four-hour fast-food restaurants often encountered homeless people like this. They were just looking for somewhere to spend the night, and businesses usually tried to avoid letting them in.
Song Bai stood there for a while, but in the end he couldn’t bring himself to ask. He turned to leave.
“Hey…” the young woman blurted out. “Could you… could you stay and keep me company for a while?” She looked startled by her own words. Then she quickly added, “The person who was supposed to work with me tonight called out, so I’m here alone. That’s why…”
Song Bai turned back, his eyes curving into a smile. “Thank you,” he said softly.
He was thanking her for still being willing to take him in.
“My name’s Liu Xiaoyuan. You can call me Sister Liu.” She handed him a cup of hot water. Song Bai nodded in thanks and took it in both hands, which were trembling slightly.
“What’s your name? Why are you wandering around outside at this hour? Did you have a fight with your parents?” Her voice was gentle.
Song Bai wrapped both hands around the cup. He was so cold his whole body seemed to radiate it, and his face was pale. He took a small sip and said quietly, “I don’t know where to go.”
Song Bai said it with such calm that he seemed not to care at all. He turned to look at the streetlights outside the window, then suddenly smiled. “If you’d told me to leave just now, I might’ve died tonight.”
Song Bai’s body was only eighteen, and he was delicate and beautiful, with fine, refined features. His hair was very light, and his skin so pale he seemed almost translucent. There was no denying he was still well suited to the line of work he’d done before. If he put some effort into it, he could probably still be a high-end escort. A beautiful, fragile-looking young man like him could certainly awaken many men’s desire to protect him.
But beneath that appearance was a soul so distant and cold. Liu Xiaoyuan stared at him as if hypnotized, as though he might disappear the very next second.
“I’m sorry. Did I scare you?” Song Bai turned back to Liu Xiaoyuan. She came to with a start and hurriedly waved her hands. “N-no, not at all. Oh, look at how little you’re wearing! Wait here…”
With that, she hurried to the staff room and brought Song Bai a jacket. “Sorry, all I could find was a uniform. If you don’t mind…”
“Thank you,” Song Bai said with a smile. Somehow, whenever he said thank you, it gave people an unusual sense of satisfaction. Liu Xiaoyuan felt a little lightheaded, and couldn’t help feeling sorry for him, too.
“Maybe you should call home. You ran out in such a hurry. They’ll be worried. Your parents only want what’s best for you. When they scold you, it’s because they want you to get on the right track. With you running away like this, they’ll probably be up all night worrying.” She had completely mistaken Song Bai for a young rich kid who’d fought with his parents and run away from home.
Song Bai didn’t deny it. He just gave her his usual faint smile and propped his chin on his hand. “It’s fine. They won’t be worried.” Because Qi Jun was dead, and they didn’t even know anyone named Song Bai.
“Don’t say that…”
“Xiaoyuan.”
“Yes?”
“Thank you. I really am fine.”
Song Bai was so insistent that Liu Xiaoyuan couldn’t say anything more. She gave up and got up to tidy the place a little, glancing at Song Bai now and then. He never showed the slightest change in emotion, and she couldn’t help thinking he was a complete enigma.
It was a little after five when Song Bai left. Liu Xiaoyuan was getting ready to finish her shift. When she turned around, he was gone. If the uniform he’d left on the table hadn’t been there, she would have thought the whole thing was just a dream.
In fact, Song Bai hadn’t gone far before three police cars followed him. Song Bai gave a cold laugh, thinking they were making too much of a fuss. One person would have been enough to subdue him. He was so weak right now that a stronger gust of wind could probably have blown him away.
Now he had somewhere to live, Song Bai thought.