Aside from the private rooms, the second floor featured individual booth seating along the balcony railing, making it convenient for guests to watch the performances below.
Duan Yang leaned over the railing, completely mesmerized, his head bobbing to the beat of the music.
“Is it good?” Fu Xingchen asked him.
Duan Yang didn’t hear him at all.
Fu Xingchen stuck a tiny decorative umbrella from a cocktail glass behind his ear, drawing a few dissatisfied grumbles in return.
He let out a chuckle, shifting his gaze to Huo Tingxiao beside him.
Huo Tingxiao was likewise looking downstairs, his gaze level and cold.
Fu Xingchen bumped his shoulder against his, asking: “What’s deal with you?”
“Hmm?”
“If Lin Xun hadn’t kicked the door down just now, were you really planning to drink that water?”
Huo Tingxiao didn’t answer immediately, neither confirming nor deliberating. It was only when Lin Xun stepped back into his field of vision that a flicker of a ripple stirred in the deep pool of his eyes.
He said: “There are no ‘ifs.'”
Fu Xingchen shrugged, easily locking onto Lin Xun in the crowded mob below following Huo Tingxiao’s line of sight.
Lin Xun was struggling to cut through the dance floor.
By now, the male stripper on stage had ripped off his last pair of underwear, leaning over a polished motorcycle and performing with all his might; the female dancer was down to her last few threads as well, twisting her slender waist with alluring grace.
The crowd was worked up into a restless excitement, the air heavy with a dense surge of hormones.
A tipsy beauty warmly placed her hand on Lin Xun’s shoulder, asking if he needed company.
The music around them was too loud, and Lin Xun was tall, so the woman had to stand on tiptoe to whisper in his ear. Her shoulder strap slid down in the process, her plump chest coming dangerously close to pressing directly against Lin Xun’s outer arm without any barrier.
Huo Tingxiao thought Lin Xun would dodge away—a feline creature that bristled even when having its head patted should obviously dodge.
Yet, Lin Xun reached out, hooked the woman’s shoulder strap with a finger, and placed it back where it belonged.
Fu Xingchen raised an eyebrow and let out a whistle.
Huo Tingxiao stared downstairs and dialed Lin Xun’s phone number. The other party answered almost instantly, but Huo Tingxiao hung up the next second without saying a single word.
As if sensing something, Lin Xun lifted his head.
Even with the lighting so dim and the crowd so thick around him, he spotted Huo Tingxiao in a single glance.
Huo Tingxiao stood by the second-floor railing, looking down at him from above.
Making no gesture whatsoever.
Lin Xun immediately pushed through the crowd, ignoring the complaints of the people around him as he sprinted up the stairs in long strides.
“Tsk.” Fu Xingchen let out an ambiguous laugh.
Huo Tingxiao cast a sideways glance at him.
Fu Xingchen showed a rare moment of kindness: “Don’t bully him too much, or you’ll scare him off.”
Huo Tingxiao turned around, leaning his back against the railing. Lin Xun had already run up to stand in front of him, his chest heaving heavily, his eyes fixed on him with confusion.
Fu Xingchen threw an arm around Duan Yang’s neck next to him: “It’s too noisy here, let’s go upstairs to play.”
“But I haven’t watched enough yet!” Duan Yang muttered.
“There are better things to see upstairs. Let’s go.”
Fu Xingchen led Duan Yang toward the third floor. Lin Xun stepped aside, waiting for Huo Tingxiao to move. Yet Huo Tingxiao remained still, his gaze fixed on him.
Lin Xun showed a hint of helplessness, his bandage-wrapped right hand awkwardly rising and falling, his eyes moist and panicked.
The corners of Huo Tingxiao’s mouth curved upward, his gaze softening.
Lin Xun cupped his phone, stepped closer, and held up the screen to show him the words written on it.
[I’m sorry.]
This was another apology received that day.
Huo Tingxiao asked, “What did you do wrong?”
Lin Xun wrote: I shouldn’t have kicked the door in on impulse. Did I mess up your plan?
Huo Tingxiao looked at him noncommittally.
Lin Xun quickly transcribed his earlier negotiation with Long San for him: Regarding that drug, I asked Long San, but he only knows his upline’s alias is Shark, who got arrested in a group fight two days ago.
Huo Tingxiao: “Mm, anything else?”
Lin Xun wrote again: It was all single-line contact; Long San doesn’t know the higher levels. As for high-purity drugs, he said he’s only heard of it and never seen it.
Huo Tingxiao hadn’t expected him to pry out so much information; it seemed this guy named Long was selectively tight-lipped.
Carefully observing Huo Tingxiao’s expression, Lin Xun still couldn’t read his thoughts. He nervously picked at his phone case a few times, adding: Long San didn’t ask much about your identity, and he promised not to blab about tonight.
“You trust him very much?” Huo Tingxiao asked suddenly.
Lin Xun was stumped by the question, realizing in hindsight to reflect on whether he had been overly naive, or even foolish.
He wanted to go downstairs to find Long San, but Huo Tingxiao reached out and pulled him back.
“Ding Jun is outside; just leave it to him.”
Fingertips traced up Lin Xun’s wrist, briefly resting on his forearm as Huo Tingxiao applied pressure with his thumb, rubbing the skin there a few times.
The bone throbbed with a dull ache and his skin felt like it was burning, but Lin Xun gladly welcomed every sensation Huo Tingxiao gave him.
Yet Huo Tingxiao released him quickly, not giving him enough time to savor it.
The two went up to the third floor one after the other. This area consisted entirely of private booths, each room featuring a different theme.
The booth Fu Xingchen booked had a card table, which was ordinary enough, but only after entering did Lin Xun notice a glass display window inside the room. Two striptease dancers were performing around a chair inside the pink-lit window.
He stood at the door, unsure whether he should back out.
Huo Tingxiao walked over and sat on the sofa. Seeing that Lin Xun hadn’t followed, he curled his lips into a smile: “Come over and sit.”
“Sit by me!” Duan Yang scooted to the side, waving at Lin Xun while thoughtfully arranging the fruit platter and drinks.
Lin Xun shuffled to the edge of the sofa, looking at Huo Tingxiao first.
If he sat over there, he would have to sit in the middle of the sofa with Duan Yang, which wasn’t quite appropriate. But Duan Yang beat him to it, leaning forward to tug at his waistband, pulling him down to sit by his side.
“You actually know that Long San? Are you two on really good terms?” Duan Yang asked curiously.
Lin Xun waved his hand and typed out: Fought a few times in the past.
Duan Yang let out an “Oh” and didn’t pry further. He nudged Fu Xingchen beside him with his elbow: “What did those code words you guys were saying earlier mean? Tell me about it, I didn’t understand a single word.”
Fu Xingchen smiled: “Want to know?”
Duan Yang nodded repeatedly.
“Then let me give you a few more lines,” Fu Xingchen stretched his arm out behind Duan Yang’s back, saying to Huo Tingxiao on the other end of the sofa: “The newly arrived Doberman in the shed is quite obedient.”
Huo Tingxiao thought for a moment, casually replying: “The color of the flowers blooming from the fish tank isn’t bad either.”
Lin Xun’s heart skipped a beat, his ears instantly flushing hot.
“…Huh?” Duan Yang looked completely baffled. “What does that mean?”
How would Fu Xingchen know what it meant? He passed the ball to Huo Tingxiao, but Huo Tingxiao raised the tip of his shoe and lightly touched Lin Xun’s leg: “What do you say?”
Lin Xun had a look of complete bewilderment.
Then he saw Huo Tingxiao wink at him.
His heart beat even faster. Lin Xun quickly withdrew his gaze, typing out a random string of characters under Duan Yang’s persistent pestering, letting the AI broadcast in a completely flat tone:
[There are only pink ones in the flower shop.]
Duan Yang was driven mad: “…What on earth are you guys talking about?!”
Huo Tingxiao chuckled softly, Fu Xingchen laughed along, and in the end, even Lin Xun lowered his head with the corners of his lips turned up.
Duan Yang finally realized: “The three of you ganged up to mess with me, didn’t you?! Lin Xun! Do you know you’ve been corrupted by Huo Tingxiao?!”
Lin Xun suppressed his smile, glancing beside him several times. Huo Tingxiao reached out, placed a hand on top of Duan Yang’s head, and tousled his hair without saying a word.
Once the joke passed, Fu Xingchen asked about serious business: “What’s the situation now?”
Just then, Ding Jun sent a message saying Long San had been caught by the police. They would temporarily detain him at the station for public security reasons, so there was no need to worry about him leaking information.
Huo Tingxiao put away his phone and said, “Handled.”
Fu Xingchen picked up his wine glass and said to Lin Xun, “Thanks to you being here tonight.”
Lin Xun was somewhat surprised; Fu Xingchen’s attitude toward him could never be considered warm, and he personally never knew how to handle others’ gestures of goodwill.
Duan Yang slapped Fu Xingchen’s thigh and pointed to Lin Xun’s bandage-wrapped right hand: “Can’t you see he’s injured? He shouldn’t touch alcohol when he’s hurt.”
Fu Xingchen hadn’t intended to force drinks on him and didn’t insist.
Even so, Lin Xun picked up a glass to return the gesture of goodwill.
Duan Yang swapped Lin Xun’s drink for a glass of low-alcohol fruit wine: “This is just like water. Drink a bit as a beverage; it shouldn’t be much of a problem.”
Lin Xun nodded, took a sip, and looked to his side once more.
Huo Tingxiao was leaning back against the sofa, watching the striptease performance in the window ahead.
His sitting posture was casual and lazy, his legs naturally spread. Lin Xun couldn’t resist shifting his gaze toward his lap.
The light overhead had an ambiguously warm tone, and Huo Tingxiao was wearing dark pants, making the undulating contours truly spark the imagination.
Lin Xun let out a quiet breath inwardly.
He silently looked toward the display window. The two blonde, blue-eyed women had already removed all their clothes, flaunting their charms around a chair and a pole.
Huo Tingxiao seemed to be watching intently. Does he like this sort of thing? Will he react to it? And if he does, how will he relieve himself?
He couldn’t imagine Huo Tingxiao handling things himself, nor did he dare to picture Huo Tingxiao embracing anyone else.
Lin Xun’s eyes went blank as his thoughts drifted further and further away. Suddenly, Huo Tingxiao stood up and walked toward the card table.
“Care for a couple of hands?”
Duan Yang was the first to respond: “Let’s do it, let’s do it!”
He grabbed Fu Xingchen with his left hand and pulled Lin Xun with his right. “What are we playing? There are four of us—bridge or Texas Hold’em?”
Fu Xingchen said, “Whatever you like.”
Lin Xun pulled his hand back and typed out: I don’t know how to play; you guys go ahead.
Duan Yang smiled and said, “Just play casually! I’m not good at it either—you’ll get the hang of it after a few hands.”
Huo Tingxiao pulled out a chair and sat down, tapping his fingers twice on the top as he said to Lin Xun, “Sit here.”
Lin Xun had no choice but to sit beside Huo Tingxiao.
Fu Xingchen and Duan Yang also took their seats. The four of them sat around the round table with wine glasses and chips placed at hand, while the striptease dancers inside the glass window swayed gracefully to the music.
Fu Xingchen said, “Let’s play Texas Hold’em then.”
Duan Yang rubbed his hands together excitedly, looking like he was ready to bleed Fu Xingchen dry. Lin Xun turned to Huo Tingxiao with a troubled look, his dark pupils shining like they were brimming with moisture.
Huo Tingxiao smiled softly. Reaching out, he grabbed Lin Xun’s seat and effortlessly pulled both the chair and the person ten centimeters closer to his chest.
Lin Xun’s face instantly flushed red.
Huo Tingxiao’s aura enveloped him from behind, giving him the illusion of being held in an embrace.
“Pay attention. I’ll teach you.”