At 8:30 that night, Chu He stood before the full-length mirror in his hotel room, his long, slender fingers elegantly tying a knot in his black patterned Hermès tie.
“Zhang Shun,” he said without turning his head, “let me borrow your car.”
“…” Zhang Shun said angrily, “You’re not f—ing really going, are you?!”
Because the master bedroom of the Zhang family home had been burned and was uninhabitable, Chu He had to stay in a hotel. His younger brother had followed along, using the excuse that he was afraid to be home alone. His original intention was to freeload in the same room as Chu He again, but he was a step too slow. When he arrived at the hotel, he was respectfully shown by a bellboy to another suite on the same floor. “President Chu specially instructed us to book this for you,” the bellboy said. “He said he knew you would be coming.”
Zhang Shun dropped his luggage and snuck into his brother’s room like a thief. The moment he entered, he was dazzled blind by President Chu’s low-key, luxurious, and stylish attire. “You’re not really planning to sleep with that woman, are you?!”
“In your eyes, am I that kind of person?”
Zhang Shun breathed a sigh of relief, but then his breath hitched again. “Wait, you mean you’re going to seriously date that woman?!”
“…” Chu He looked at his brother in the mirror. “Do you have a problem with that?”
“Of course I have a problem!” Zhang Shun leaped up from the bed. “That woman looks anything but decent! So flirtatious! And she took the initiative to hit on you! Don’t you like well-bred ladies from scholarly families like Fu Ya? How did you get your soul hooked by this kind of indecent woman? This type of woman will make you suffer with nowhere to cry. Stop getting involved with her!”
Chu He asked, surprised, “I remember you saying Fu Ya had something wrong with her brain, that she was extremely boring and uninteresting…”
“Did I say that? Was it me who said that? Which idiot would say that about a girl!” Zhang Shun immediately pulled out his phone to call Fu Ya. “Hey, are you free tonight? Hurry up and come out, my brother is treating you to dinner…”
As he was speaking, his hand suddenly felt empty. Zhang Shun looked up to see his brother standing in front of him, calmly taking the phone and pressing the disconnect button. “Car keys.”
A vein throbbed on Zhang Shun’s temple. After a moment, he jumped up, clutching his pockets, and rushed for the door. But before he could take two steps, Chu He easily grabbed him by the back of his collar and pulled him back. He reached into his pants pocket to fish for the car keys.
Zhang Shun: “…”
In that instant, they stood one behind the other, their bodies almost pressed together.
Zhang Shun was taller than his brother. He could feel his brother’s warm breath on the strong side of his neck, and his nose was filled with the light, sexy scent of cologne, like a forest after the rain. When his brother’s hand reached into his pants pocket, because the pocket was tight, he could even feel the clear sensation of every line on his brother’s slender fingers against the skin of his outer thigh.
A warmth rushed to Zhang Shun’s nose, and his already firm back instantly tensed like a rock.
Chu He hooked out the Ferrari keys and walked to the entryway to change his shoes. After he was done, he looked up casually and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Is your nose okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?”
“…” Zhang Shun stared blankly at his brother.
Chu He immediately walked over. “Are you alright?”
Zhang Shun frantically wiped away a streak of blood, pushed his brother away, and rushed out the door with messy steps. Seeing how hurried he was, let alone the car keys, even if Chu He had taken his wallet as well, he wouldn’t have noticed.
“…Are you really okay?”
Chu He frowned. After thinking about it, he figured that the fall during the day must have ruptured a blood vessel in his nasal cavity. But it was definitely useless to look for the culprit now. He could only shake his head and curse almost inaudibly, “That idiot Zhou Hui…”
·
That idiot surnamed Zhou stood before the hotel window, gazing through the one-way glass at the fiery red Ferrari below, and at the person in a black suit and white shirt leaning against the car door, smoking.
Although Zhou Yi was often secretly cursed as an idiot by people who didn’t know the truth, the expression on his face at this moment had no connection to being an idiot. In fact, when Li Hu saw his profile reflected in the glass, she was so startled by his expression that she froze.
“I don’t know… he really came,” Li Hu said hesitantly. “Maybe we should just call and say we suddenly have something on tonight…”
“You shouldn’t have provoked him,” Zhou Yi said flatly.
“This person was already on the verge of entering demonhood. The only reason he still retains a shred of sanity is because of the Buddha bone’s protection. I don’t know why he’s maintaining this tightrope-like balance, but twilight is the time for encountering demons. It’s very easy for you to provoke his ferocity by doing this.”
Li Hu couldn’t help but ask, “Are you sure he is Feng Si? You’ve thought every look-alike you’ve seen these years was Feng Si. If this goes on, he won’t have become a demon before you go crazy…”
“I don’t know, but Feng Si is with the Demon Lord. If he really is him, then the Demon Lord Fan Luo must not be far.” Zhou Yi stared at the glass and slowly smiled. “The greatest hatred in the world: killing one’s father, murdering one’s mother—snatching one’s wife…”
Li Hu couldn’t help but shiver at that expression.
“You… you better not do anything rash. Remember? We have a mission this time. When we left the capital, you made a military pledge to Director Yu that you would absolutely not let the Japanese take the ‘Earth Womb’ of H-City out of the country—”
Zhou Yi was silent for a moment, then gradually returned to normal.
“I know,” he said. “You don’t need to remind me.”
·
Li Hu had changed into a red dress that made her sexy figure even more fiery. When Chu He saw her, he even praised, “Miss Li is truly a femme fatale.”
For some reason, Li Hu felt this statement was more polite than sincere, because he himself showed no signs of being turned upside down.
On the contrary, when she saw President Chu in a slim-fit black Dior suit, with his pale skin and indifferent expression, standing by the fiery red Ferrari like a noble vampire of the night, she felt this man was probably more of a femme fatale—not to mention the slightly crazed Boss Zhou upstairs, even the few young girls passing by looked like they were about to faint.
It’s so strange, she thought, even with such a plain face now, he can still…
Chu He personally opened the car door for her and said, “We’ve probably eaten by now. The coffee at the top-floor observatory of West Cape is good. Shall we go have a seat?”
A slight stir in her heart, Li Hu immediately smiled. “I heard that the Team Leader Feng Si of back then was a very romantic person. I never thought I’d have a day to enjoy it myself. I must go and see.”
As she spoke, she turned her head to look at Chu He, as if she could see every subtle change in the man’s expression.
—However, Chu He had no expression. “Ex-boyfriend?”
“…” Li Hu said, “Sorry, pretend I didn’t say that.”
It turned out that when it came to romance, when you don’t have money, it depends on skill. When you have money, you can have as much of it as you want.
The café was built in a sky garden on the fortieth floor. The port was visible in the distance, the sound of the waves faint in the night, and the melodious tune of a cello drifted on the night wind. The large floral hanging chair by the window was not lit by lamps, only by fragrant candles. The candlelight reflected in the silky red wine, as brilliant as the countless stars in the sky above.
If Li Hu had initially thought it might be a bit awkward to face Chu He, after sitting down for a few minutes, she had no such concerns. The fine wine and delicious food, the intoxicating luxury, and especially the fact that President Chu was a knowledgeable, witty conversationalist who was particularly good at starting topics and listening intently—by the time Li Hu realized it, the time had already slipped past midnight. She had unknowingly chatted with him for over three hours.
“I never thought you were such a witty person,” Li Hu said, gently swirling her red wine with a smile. “For a man like you to have no family and no girlfriend, is it because your standards are too high?”
Chu He smiled. “You can tell just by looking at Zhang Shun. I spent the first ten years of my life raising a child.”
Li Hu burst out laughing, laughing so hard the red wine almost spilled from her glass. As she placed the crystal goblet back on the table, she inadvertently caught a glimpse of Chu He lowering his gaze, seemingly glancing at his watch.
·
“I spent the first ten years of my life raising a child.”
Zhang Shun: “…”
Zhang Shun’s expression twitched. He put down his knife and fork and silently held his forehead.
Across from him, Zhou Yi burst into laughter. His laughter was so loud that a passing waiter nearly dropped his tray. But he quickly covered his mouth with a napkin, his shoulders shaking. “Bro-brother-in-law, your brother’s description of himself is really spot-on, hahaha…”
Zhang Shun said angrily, “Who’s your brother-in-law?!”
The two of them were sitting in a corner not far away. The location of this corner was very clever: it was not far from Chu He and Li Hu’s table, so they could occasionally hear the conversation from over there, but it was also very secluded and blocked by potted plants, making it hard to be spotted at a glance.
“God-stick, why are you here?” Zhang Shun was simply exasperated. “If you’re f—ing afraid my brother is going to take advantage of your colleague, you should go back now. Look at that woman, it’s hard to say who’s taking advantage of whom. Or are you secretly in love with your colleague? Afraid of being NTR’d by my brother, so you secretly came to spy?”
After Zhou Yi finished laughing, he wiped his mouth with a napkin and said with great style, “I’m here for the same reason as you.”
“…I just happened to be here for dinner, okay!”
“Oh, me too.”
The two handsome men stared at each other for a moment. Zhou Yi proactively slapped his card holder on the table. “Don’t worry, brother-in-law. It’s my treat today.”
“…Who’s your brother-in-law!” Zhang Shun bristled.
At the same moment, ten meters away, Li Hu pointed to the expensive-looking watch on Chu He’s wrist and asked, “Are you in a hurry to get back?”
“My time has always been tight, but tonight is an exception…” Chu He smiled slowly. “I’m waiting for the 12:30 fireworks. Look.”
He turned to the window. A bright line suddenly streaked across the night sky, and then a huge rose bloomed! Countless flowers of light blossomed in the starry sky, illuminating the entire hall with a splendid glow, causing the restaurant guests to get up and walk to the window.
“This… this is so beautiful,” Li Hu marveled. “I never knew H-City had such fireworks at night. I’ve never heard of it before…” She suddenly realized something. “President Chu, could it be you—?”
When she turned her head, she saw Chu He leaning against the table with his arms crossed, politely making a “shh” gesture. “No need to say it out loud.”
In that instant, the light of the fireworks outlined his slender, elegant figure. He was as graceful as orchids and jade trees, and even a simple gesture like placing his long index finger to his lips exuded an incredible charm.
Li Hu: “…”
Li Hu now felt she was truly impressed. Handsome guys like Zhou Yi and Zhang Shun relied on their faces to attract fans, but this President Chu before her was a genuine master of the craft!
“I’m truly flattered by this…” Li Hu felt she should say something, but then she suddenly stopped. Through the glass, she saw that as Chu He lowered his hand from his lips, he took another, extremely discreet glance at his watch.
He’s in a hurry? Waiting for someone?
Li Hu’s usually alert nerve endings tensed up. All the details of the evening flashed through her mind like lightning, finally returning to the unexpected invitation at dusk: “Beautiful, may I have the honor of treating you to a late-night snack tonight?”
—He’s avoiding a certain moment, Li Hu realized almost instantly.
He had chosen her from a group of people—not his naive and ignorant brother, nor the unfathomable Zhou Yi, and certainly not some random passerby from the street. Instead, he had used her, a character who seemed harmless but actually had some weight, to avoid being alone at midnight tonight.
So—, Li Hu thought, what is he avoiding?
Or rather, who is he avoiding?
·
Li Hu instantly made a bold decision.
The fireworks died out, and the crowd returned to their seats, sighing in admiration. The restaurant returned to its elegant and peaceful atmosphere, the sound of the violin slowly drifting in the fragrant air.
Li Hu put down her napkin. Her smiling red lips looked particularly seductive. “President Chu, I have an impertinent request. I wonder if you would grant it?”
“Oh?”
“The night view of the harbor over there is beautiful. I’d like to take a walk on the observation deck. Would you be willing to accompany me?”
Chu He looked up at her. He didn’t speak at first. After a few seconds, he suddenly laughed. “You—Miss Li, you look so much like an old friend of mine when you smile. From this angle…”
Li Hu immediately narrowed her eyes, a sexy challenge in her tone. “Ex-girlfriend?”
“No, no, just an ordinary friend.”
“I see.” Only then did Li Hu proactively extend her soft white hand. “Since it’s just an ordinary friend, then on such a beautiful night, we shouldn’t let her spoil the mood, should we?”
Chu He stared at the bonelessly soft hand extended before him. After a long moment, he shook his head and smiled, his expression a mixture of mockery and self-deprecation. Then he graciously took Li Hu’s hand and, under the as-if-facing-a-great-enemy gaze of his brother ten meters away, walked toward the restaurant’s observation elevator.
The observation deck was reached by a glass elevator from inside the building. It was a small sky garden built suspended above the revolving restaurant. It was more private than the restaurant, with a beautiful and secluded environment, planted with large clusters of roses and tulips, their intoxicating fragrance drifting in the night wind.
This seemed like a more suitable place to cultivate feelings and talk about love. Li Hu walked hand in hand with Chu He like a young girl for a while, then suddenly tilted her head with a cute look and asked, “President Chu, you seem distracted. Are you still thinking about that old friend from just now while you’re with me?”
Chu He said, “Definitely not.”
“Uh-huh?”
“If he were holding my hand,” Chu He pointed to his hand being held by her, “I would truly puke.”
Li Hu: “…”
The corner of Li Hu’s mouth twitched slightly. After a long moment, she finally asked, “Why does this person disgust you so much?”
This question seemed to amuse Chu He. He even let out a thoughtful “tsk.”
“To be precise, it’s not a person, it’s a fox—of course, at his level, he’s no longer an ordinary fox, but the foxy traits of seduction, cunning, and tripping people up haven’t changed. But if it were just that, it would be fine. The main thing is that person—how should I put it.”
Chu He paused, as if savoring the thought, and said, “is extremely, extremely sharp-tongued…”
Li Hu stiffened slightly. “To be hated by you to this extent, he must be more than just ordinarily sharp-tongued?”
“Oh, not at all,” Chu He said immediately. “I don’t hate him. It’s just rather amusing for someone to be so consistently annoying for ten years.”
As he spoke, he even turned his head and smiled at Li Hu, his eyes narrowed.
“…” At this moment, Li Hu’s feelings were somewhat indescribable. She slowly stopped and said, “Excuse me, President Chu. I need to use the restroom. Could you please wait for me for two minutes?”
Chu He nodded politely.
Li Hu gave him a complex smile, then walked away on her high heels, her tight red dress like a butterfly flitting among the flowers.
The night was like water, the sound of the waves like a lament. The clinking of glasses and melodious music drifted up from the restaurant below, making this small garden seem like a fairyland on earth. However, the butterfly that had flown away from this fairyland did not return after two minutes. Not only that, but nearly ten minutes passed, and she still hadn’t returned, looking like she had no intention of coming back.
Chu He looked at his watch—this was the twelfth time he had looked at his watch tonight, and his mood was not as relaxed as the previous eleven times.
Midnight hadn’t passed yet. He decided to go back to the restaurant first.
However, just as he took a step, the air behind him suddenly tore apart, and a gust of wind accompanied by a huge suction force rose from the ground!
“That little beauty of yours…”
A tall figure wrapped in a black robe emerged from the crack in the void, like a demon descending upon the world in the dark night. Chu He stopped in his tracks. As expected, in the next second, a low voice sounded right behind his ear: “—probably stood you up on purpose.”
“…” Chu He sighed and said, “I should have known.”
The Demon Lord Fan Luo placed a hand on Chu He’s back shoulder, while his other hand wrapped around his body and easily lifted his chin. The shadow he cast was so large that it completely covered Chu He’s own, making them look like a single entity in the moonlight.
“So, were you on a date with this little beauty to avoid me?”
·
Meanwhile, in the restaurant downstairs.
Zhou Yi seemed to sense something. The blade of his steak knife scraped lightly against the plate.
“Brother-in-law,” he then put down his knife and fork and said earnestly, “Big bro has some urgent business and has to leave. Are you sure you don’t want me to treat you to this meal?”
Zhang Shun answered him with his actions. “Waiter! The bill, please. Separate checks!”
Zhou Yi, utterly exasperated, pulled out his credit card. “We’re almost family, and you’re still so distant. Brother-in-law, you really are…”
That constant “brother-in-law” made Zhang Shun’s skin crawl. If it were some scoundrel, it would be one thing to say he was just being a hooligan and taking advantage of his brother. But combined with Zhou Yi’s handsome, Hollywood-star-like face and his expensive attire, it could only be described as mental illness.
“How on earth did my brother make a friend like you,” Zhang Shun couldn’t help but ask sincerely. “How much money would it take for you to leave him alone?”
The waiter, who had just come over with the bill, had an indescribable expression on his face upon hearing this.
“I say, brother-in-law,” Zhou Yi sat back down and asked with great sincerity, “do you really look down on me that much? Do you think that even though I’m reasonably wealthy, I’m not at all worthy of President Chu?”
Zhang Shun said helplessly, “Big bro, can we have our fit outside…”
“No, no, no, I’m being very serious. Do you know your brother has a boyfriend now?”
“Of course I know… what did you say?!” Young Master Zhang said, stunned. “Who has a boyfriend?!”
Zhou Yi’s expression at this moment was exceptionally ethereal, like a transcendent master come to enlighten a lost soul. If one were to describe it, it was quite similar to the ten-yuan-a-reading fortune tellers on Xinglong Street. However, with the same expression, they usually wouldn’t say, “Your brother has a boyfriend,” but rather, “Sir, your forehead is dark, you are about to have a bloody disaster. Would you like me to sacrifice ten years of my cultivation to perform a ritual to break it for you? It’s cheap!”
“Brother-in-law,” Zhou Yi said, “you think I’m not worthy of your brother now, but you’ll know how good I am when you meet his current boyfriend. Let’s not talk about other things. Has your house been haunted recently? Do you often feel your qi and blood are blocked, your spirits are low, you have frequent nightmares at night, and you can only sleep well when you’re by your brother’s side?”
Zhang Shun: “…”
“It’s all your brother’s current boyfriend’s doing. Who else could get into your house and scare you by your bed?” Zhou Yi held his forehead and said with deep sorrow under Zhang Shun’s shocked gaze, “He has a grudge against you from a past life, which is why he’s chasing you in this life, lurking by President Chu’s side and waiting for a chance to harm you. If we were a step later, both President Chu and you might have fallen into his demonic clutches!”
“…” Zhang Shun asked, “So you’re saying my brother’s boyfriend is a ghost?”
“This is a question you should ask your brother directly.” Zhou Yi narrowed his eyes with a smile, stood up, and said slowly, “Brother-in-law, if you have problems, don’t go to those half-baked masters on Xinglong Street. You have a ready-made relative right here. I’m average at everything else, but my ghost-catching skills are at a nationally certified professional level. For the sake of family, I can give you a 5% discount…”
Zhou Yi casually glanced up and smiled. “Big bro has to go. You eat slowly.” He then grabbed his keys and swaggered out. It was unknown if it was Zhang Shun’s imagination, but the lunatic’s back actually had a hint of mysterious, otherworldly style.
…How does this god-stick know our house is haunted? Could he really be a master?
Just as Zhang Shun was trying to figure it out, Zhou Yi suddenly turned his head as if he had remembered something. “There’s a 2% handling fee for card payments!”
“…” Zhang Shun said, “Goodbye to you!”
·
Just as the Second Young Master Zhang was gritting his teeth and recalling his brother’s recent suspicious actions and the虐待 (nüèdài) – abusive – hickey on his neck, up in the sky garden, Chu He was looking at the Demon Lord with a deadpan expression. “So what if I was?”
He turned and took half a step back, facing Fan Luo.
Although the man’s face was consistently pale and his expression cold, and there was even a subtle hint of illness between his brows, and his slender frame was no match for the Demon Lord’s, when he so clearly showed a confrontational stance, his imposing manner, as deep as a still pool and as majestic as a mountain, was not in the least bit weaker than the Demon Lord’s.
“Nothing much.” The Demon Lord looked down at him for a moment before saying, “I just think that on one hand, you use my protection to avoid heavenly tribulations, and on the other, you constantly stay by the Buddha bone’s side, using the Buddha bone’s influence to avoid complete demonhood… You seem to think I’m a bit too easy to talk to.”
“You’re overthinking it. Zhou Hui suddenly appeared in H-City. I’m just trying to prevent him from discovering you.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Chu He didn’t answer but asked back, “Back when Zhou Hui besieged the Hell Realm, if I hadn’t turned against him on the battlefield, you would have already been sealed. Now that you and I have been lying low in H-City for only a few years, what do you think are the chances of winning a direct confrontation with him?”
The Demon Lord lifted his chin with great interest and asked, “And what if I add you?”
“…”
“With the two of us joining forces, killing Zhou Hui shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
This time, Chu He was silent for a long time. So long that the Demon Lord thought he had nothing more to say. Then, he suddenly gave a strange smile. “As the saying goes… one night as husband and wife brings a hundred days of kindness. Since we’ve slept together, why should I kill Zhou Hui?”
Such fleshy words coming from someone with Chu He’s personality were simply too amusing. If he hadn’t heard it with his own ears, the Demon Lord wouldn’t have believed he could say such a thing. After he processed it, the Demon Lord couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “One night as husband and wife brings a hundred days of kindness, what a hundred days of kindness… In that case, how much kindness have you and I accumulated? One day, when Zhou Hui wants to kill me, will you give him the same reply?”
A cold smile tugged at the corner of Chu He’s lips. “If he wants to kill you, he’ll definitely do it himself. It’s more likely he’ll just have me watch from the side. But if he really asks for my help, I’ll definitely give him the same reply. I don’t care which of you two lives.”
The Demon Lord roared with laughter.
Although in the battle of the Hell Realm back then, the demonic path had indeed suffered a great loss at Zhou Hui’s hands, and if it weren’t for Chu He’s betrayal on the battlefield, even the Demon Lord himself would have been sealed by Zhou Hui’s own hands, it was undeniable that for a very long time, Zhou Hui, representing the Heavenly Dao, and Fan Luo, representing the Demonic Dao, had always been the top existences among the six realms of existence.
The opposition between these two was equivalent to the opposition between the Heavenly Dao and the Demonic Dao. Since the age of creation myths, they had represented the “Good Paths” and “Evil Paths” among the six realms of existence and had been at war ever since. Yet, absurdly, there was now such a person, hiding his identity among the masses, who was simultaneously, in a semi-forced manner, maintaining such an intimate and delicate relationship with both sides.
The Demon Lord grabbed Chu He’s cold chin, forcing him to look up. For a moment, there was almost something akin to tenderness in Fan Luo’s black eyes, but it vanished quickly, so fast it was almost an illusion.
“I heard you were once very close to achieving Buddhahood, but failed because of Zhou Hui,” Fan Luo whispered in his ear. “But entering demonhood is much simpler than cultivating Buddhahood. Sometimes, a single thought is all it takes.”
Chu He didn’t move, only closing his eyes.
He felt his collar being pulled down. The warm skin of his neck, exposed to the air, felt a piercing chill. In the next moment, the Demon Lord bit down on that most fatal spot. The sharp fangs instantly pierced into the soft flesh. Heart’s blood gushed out, and a cold demonic aura, with a powerful and irresistible force, cut into his body!
Chu He’s whole body trembled, his fingers spasming, wanting to grab something. Fan Luo reached out to hold him, but he struggled free.
—He grabbed the stem of a climbing rose behind him, so hard that blood soon oozed from his cold, bluish knuckles.
“You…”
Fan Luo’s long, narrow eyes squinted. He seemed to want to say something, but a carefree voice suddenly came from not far away. “President Chu?”
—It was Zhou Yi!
Chu He’s pupils instantly constricted and then dilated. He pushed the Demon Lord away with one hand, but Fan Luo caught him with a backhand grip.
“President Chu?” Zhou Yi sauntered up from the restaurant downstairs and even knocked symbolically on the hanging glass door of the sky garden. “Excuse me, are you in there?”
