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“You’re going to look so cute!”
Xie Lian glanced up at the squeal, fighting a smile onto his face. Shi Qingxuan put more of that powder on his nose, then grabbed the back of the chair to spin him around toward the mirror. “Ah! What!?” He leaned forward, looking at himself, reaching up to tug on his cheek. His face was covered in thick makeup, deep rogue on his cheeks, and false eyelashes obscured his vision every time he blinked. “What did you turn me into?”
“You look beautiful!” Shi Qingxuan insisted, sitting himself on vanity in front of the mirror and gratefully blocking Xie Lian’s view of himself. He already had makeup painted on, even more dramatic than Xie Lian’s own with red lips and dark eye shadow. His nails dripped red, and the dress he wore dove low over his chest. The diamond pendant on his necklace could probably buy up half of the city.
“Ugh.” Xie Lian fought the urge to scrub his hands over his face to get the makeup off. Shi Qingxuan would just scold him and pout until he eventually let him put it back on. “No one is going to want to buy a date with me, no matter how much makeup you make me wear.”
“Stop complaining!” Shi Qingxuan glanced up from his phone, smiling brightly. “Besides, even a dollar is good! This is all for charity. To help...dolphins or something.”
“Uh, it’s for, the Marine Life Protection Collective,” Xie Lian said, finishing the thought. Shi Qinxuan was already looking at his phone again instead. “You know, your brother is the one who put this all together. You should know more about it, since you agreed to be auctioned off.”
Shi Qingxuan shook his head. “Ge’s name might be on it, but Ling Wen did all the real work.”
Xie Lian sighed. He checked the time on his phone, then stood up and grabbed Shi Qingxuan’s arm to lead him out of the room. “Come on, we’re going to be late. The sooner we get there, the sooner this will all be over, right?”
Shi Qingxuan laughed at him.
Hua Cheng folded his arms atop the table, scanning the crowd at the front of the room. “Do you see him yet?” he asked his companion, who was stuffing yet another bread roll in his mouth. He Xuan didn’t answer him, so Hua Cheng just sighed and leaned back in his seat. He crossed his arms, shutting his one eye and taking a few breaths. “What if he doesn’t come?”
“Then I guess you’ll have to stalk him at his apartment like you normally do,” He Xuan replied, grabbing a stick of butter and cutting off a large helping and smearing it on another roll. Hua Cheng flicked his eye open just enough to watch him engulf this one, too, then he sighed. He Xuan slurped the melting butter off one finger, then turned to look at him. His golden eyes were lined with thick eyeliner, and the fringe of his bangs hung down in front of them, giving him a shadowy look.
“One day, the police are going to find out that you threw a molotov cocktail through the window of Shi Wudu’s offices, and I’m not going to hire you a lawyer to get you off of those vandalism charges.” Hua Cheng grinned at him, then reached out to pick up another appetizer, but his fingers touched an empty plate. He looked around their table, realizing that He Xuan had somehow already eaten through all the food they’d been served.
He Xuan turned to glance at the table where Shi Wudu was sitting with the other two owners of his shipping company, barely containing a snarl. “Rich pigs deserve nothing but death.”
“I’m rich, and you hang out with me.”
“When the revolution happens, I’ll take pleasure in ripping out your throat, Crimson Rain.”
Hua Cheng snorted, flipping his hair over his shoulder and lifting up the single braid with a red coral bead tied on the end. He fiddled with this in-between his fingers for a moment, looking around the large banquet hall. They were seated at the very back, and Hua Cheng could definitely feel the strange looks from the old money fucks who considered nouveau riche people like him utter trash. “Eh, Black Water, what about all of them? Tell me, how are you going to kill Quan Yizhen over there?”
The strange nicknames were so ancient to them that Hua Cheng honestly didn’t even remember where they’d come up with them. Still, He Xuan responded to it and glanced over to the young man sitting a few tables away. He looked antsy and bored, with his hands trying to get two forks to balance together and stand up in a triangular shape.
“Run him over with a car,” He Xuan said. “He doesn’t look too evil.”
“What about...him?” Hua Cheng pointed toward Qi Rong, who was sleazing his way across the room despite his aunt’s protests to stay at the table.
“I’d strangle him with his own tie and hang him up at the city gates as a warning.”
Hua Cheng laughed, then knocked his elbow against He Xuan’s arm. “And Shi Wudu?”
He Xuan stroked his fingers on the butter knife he’d laid down on the table, eye twitching with anger. “I’d carve his head off with a rusty knife.”
“You’re so psychotic,” Hua Cheng said, laughing. He slapped him on the back, then blinked as Shi Wudu stood up from his table and walked up onto the stage. The auction was officially starting.
Shi Qingxuan threw his head back and laughed as Xie Lian hobbled back in off the stage. She’d heard the loud shout from someone, “Fifteen thousand!” For a silent auction, that was the last thing he expected to hear. Someone loudly shouting out their offer and absolutely quieting the competition. And to jump up from the mere thousand it had been at first? Truly iconic.
“Did you see who it was?” Shi Qingxuan asked, and Xie Lian nodded his head. Even under the makeup, he looked white as a sheet.
“It was San Lang!”
Shi Qingxuan’s mouth hung open. “You mean Hua Cheng? The guy who owns that club downtown? That Hua Cheng? What?” Shi Qingxuan nearly shrieked with excitement. “At least you know you’re going to get a fun date!”
Xie Lian scratched at his cheek, blushing terribly as Shi Qingxuan wrapped his arms around them and rocked back and forth. “He’s always been so nice to me, and he sometimes helps me carry stuff into my apartment, but…” He laughed softly. “I didn’t even expect to see him here.”
“It’s surprising. Ge wouldn’t usually let someone like him buy a spot here tonight. It might ruin the environment.” Shi Qingxuan put on a boring face to impersonate his brother. “He’s nothing but new money with no connection to our way of doing things.” Shi Qingxuan rolled his eyes, showing just how much he thought of that particular opinion, then he squeezed Xie Lian’s cheeks. “Maybe he likes you! Maybe this is his way of asking you on a real date.”
“Stop, stop, I doubt that!” Xie Lian pulled away and rubbed his cheeks.
Ahead of them, one of the stagehands motioned to Shi Qingxuan adamantly, and he smoothly stepped away. “Let’s see if someone is willing to spend more on me,” he said, then he floated out onto the stage with light steps. He waved to his brother, who simply shook his head and rolled his eyes.
He placed his hands on his hips and flipped open the fan he carried to pose with it.
Across the room, Hua Cheng had already gotten what he wanted, so he put his bidder paddle on the table. However, as soon as he did, it was picked up again by He Xuan. His hand flew into the air before the auctioneer had even gotten the first word out.
“What are you doing, Black Water?” he asked, but there was no response.
He could see He Xuan’s eyes were wide and focused solely on the person on the auction block. Hua Cheng turned to look at the figure, his eyebrow lifted. He was unimpressed with the fancy dress and the tons of makeup, but as the bidding started to rise, He Xuan went with it.
“Exactly what money are you using to make this bid?” Hua Cheng asked, trying to grab the paddle back when his hand inched down somewhat.
“Lend it to me,” He Xuan said, turning to look at him, finally breaking the intense stare he had on that person on the stage. “Please.”
“Tsk. Fine. But you will actually pay me back this time,” Hua Cheng replied, and he let go of his arm.
The numbers racked up fairly quickly, but Hua Cheng didn’t flinch. Eventually somewhere around thirty thousand was settled on, and only this made Hua Cheng’s lips curl up. He should have thrown out a higher number on Xie Lian. What would he think of him like this? That he couldn’t keep up with this old money trash?
Shi Wudu took the stage at last, with his brother having been the last prize on the auction block, and he thanked everyone. Hua Cheng hardly listened to him, having taken out his phone. He texted Xie Lian who was behind the curtain, he assumed, telling him that he couldn’t wait for the next night. He Xuan seemed shaky, and as soon as the main event was over, he fled the room. Hua Cheng didn’t bother to go after him until the event came to a close. The dates would be the following night, so there was nothing else for him to do here, and Xie Lian told him that he went ahead and went home rather than staying for the after party.
Outside, He Xuan was smoking again, hunched over with an angry look on his face. “You have to stop,” Hua Cheng said. “Those things are going to kill you someday. And how are you going to start the revolution with lung cancer, huh?”
“Fuck off,” He Xuan said, then he dropped the cigarette and stomped it out on the curb. Leaning down, he scooped it up and tossed it in the garbage can a few feet away.
“So...Shi Qingxuan?” Hua Cheng asked.
“Fuck. Off.”
“I just paid your fucking tab,” Hua Cheng said, laughing. “The least you could do is actually talk to me.”
He Xuan didn’t say anything for a moment. “I’m going to take him out to the lake.”
“Oh.” Hua Cheng lifted his brow, eye twinkling. “And what are you going to do on the lake?”
He shrugged, rather than answering.
“Well, if you need to hide a body, call Yin Yu. I’ve got to go and get the Paradise Manor ready for my date tomorrow.”
He Xuan snorted. “Good luck.”
“You too, Black Water. You, too.”
Outside of the Water Master Shipping Company headquarters, Xie Lian helped Shi Qingxuan hook the necklace on the back of his neck. “So you didn’t see who bought a date with you?” he asked.
“No! I didn’t!” Shi Qingxuan turned around and flipped his hair back into place. “He didn’t stay for the after party, and he was sitting in the very back, so all I could see was...black hair?”
“Okay, that’s half the people there,” Xie Lian replied, rolling his eyes.
“I know! It’s mysterious.” Shi Qingxuan laughed, fanning himself with delicate wrist movements. “Romantic almost. What if he’s a sailor who’s only here for two days, and he just had to spend them with me, so he put his life savings on the line! Or he’s a mogul from another country, and he’s going to sweep me away with his private jet!”
Xie Lian laughed. “Or maybe he’s just one of the boring businessmen your brother has been trying to set you up with for years.”
Pouting, Shi Qingxuan snapped his fan closed and hit it lightly on top of Xie Lian’s head. “Don’t ruin my fun.” He glanced around. “Where’s Hua Cheng? He’s never, ever even a second late when it comes to you.”
“Oh, we agreed to just meet at the Paradise Manor. I’m going to walk over there once your date picks you up.” Xie Lian smiled. “It’s such a short walk from here. I didn’t want to inconvenience him.”
“I’m pretty sure he would have bought you a limo if you’d asked him to,” Shi Qingxuan said. “It’s plain to see that boy is head over heels for you!”
“No, no, he just...he said that he didn’t want to risk me having to go out with-”
“No let me guess!” Shi Qingxuan stopped him, laughing. “He called all of us ‘useless trash’ then said that we’re all beneath you?” Xie Lian smiled faintly and nodded, which only made Shi Qingxuan laugh harder. “Please, please, Xie Lian, I’m begging you! Have sex with him tonight. You absolutely deserve it, and he absolutely, absolutely would fall over himself trying to please you.”
Xie Lian looked as red as a tomato, and his white shirt only made the blush look all the brighter. Shi Qingxuan realized that his pants probably cost more than Xie Lian’s whole wardrobe. Even though he came from old money, he’d left it behind to ‘make it on his own’. And now he had this handsome, nouveau riche club owner basking in his glory and granting his every whim. Shi Qingxuan had all the money he could ever want, but he found himself a little jealous at the thought.
A black car came screeching up, rubber burning from how fast it was going, but it stopped right beside them and sat there. Shi Qingxuan stared at it for a moment, then he walked up and tapped on the window. It rolled down a crack, and a voice said inside. “Get in.”
“Are you-”
“I bought you for the night. Get in.”
Shi Qingxuan turned to look at Xie Lian, then he gave him a thumbs up. “Text me,” Xie Lian said, and he nodded, then opened the door and slid into the dark interior of the car. He shut the door, then looked to the man beside him. He wore dark clothing, had slick dark hair with an unkempt look, a fringe of bangs that hung in front of his golden eyes. Those eyes were staring right back at Shi Qingxuan, and he let out a small laugh when he fell under such an intense stare.
“Nice car,” he said, hiding his nervous smile behind his fan.
“I stole it.”
“What?”
The man stepped on the gas and they peeled out with a shriek from the tires, and he didn’t stop as he got on the street. He zipped past stop lights, hands on the wheel and knuckles turning a worrying shade of white.
“From Hua Cheng. I’ll return it when I’m through with it.”
“Oh. Haha.” Shi Qingxuan quickly pulled the seatbelt over himself, clicking it into place as the car jerked between cars that were going slower, and eventually shot out of the exit onto the highway. “So, what’s your name? Wh-where are we going?” Shi Qingxuan glanced out of the window at the long stretch of highway in front of them, and the car sped up even more. His heart was beating so wildly in his chest that he was sure his ribs would crack.
“He Xuan. A place I know.” His knuckles relaxed on the wheel as they continued on the empty highway. Shi Qingxuan noticed his nails were smoothly painted black and he had a silver band on one finger. Left ring finger.
“You’re married?” Shi Qingxuan asked, surprised.
His fingers tightened on the wheel again. “No. Used to be.”
“Oh, sorry, I uh...not my business, right?” Shi Qingxuan fanned himself, wrist moving swiftly. Looking, he found golden eyes focused on him again, and his throat dried up under that stare. “So, um, I don’t know you, which means you don’t run with the crowds my brother does.”
“I hate your brother.”
“Haha, yeah, lots of people do!” He clenched his teeth to stop from laughing again, eyes flashing toward the road. He Xuan wasn’t even watching it anymore, all his attention on him. And the speeds they were going...this was starting to get scary. “What do you do for a living?”
“Write.” He Xuan seemed fond of short answers, but the focus being on him made him turn back to the road, thankfully.
“Oh, like novels?”
“Economic essays.”
“Hah! So you’re really smart.” Shi Qingxuan smiled brightly, and he finally closed his fan and set it down in his lap instead. “I uh, help out with PR for the Water Master company,” Shi Qingxuan said. “I do a lot of parties and stuff. If you want to throw a party, then I’m your guy. Or gal. Or person.” He shrugged. “But I’m not smart like my brother. Or you.”
“Do you always start dates by telling people you’re not intelligent?” He Xuan asked him.
“Oh, no, no! I didn’t mean-” Shi Qingxuan blushed a bit, feeling off-kilter. It wasn’t a normal feeling for him. He could usually handle whatever was thrown at him, but this entire situation was weird. And the longer they drove, the more Shi Qingxuan realized he was being taken far, far out of the city limits. There were trees on the highway now, instead of buildings, closing in around their car like giant walls of black leaves. The beam of the headlights barely cut the encroaching darkness. “Do you like music?”
“Sure.” He Xuan reached forward and fiddled with the car’s stereo for a minute. He’d set up his phone to connect, and then cranked up the volume. What came over the speakers...wasn’t music. At least not anything that Shi Qingxuan considered music. Instead, a series of discordant beats, scratches, synthpop samplings, and hammering beats. Industrial grindhouse, loud and grating on his already fraying nerves.
Shi Qingxuan smiled a little, strained. “How long until we get to uh, this place you know?”
“About an hour.”
“Wonderful!”
He Xuan didn’t say a single word the rest of the way there.
Hua Cheng sat at a red booth, platters of food laid out, servers waiting just out of sight should they be needed. A band was playing live music, but the club was empty save for the dance troupe he’d hired to perform, but they were all sitting and waiting for instruction to begin. He continued to fix and refix the arrangement of things on the table, but it was already edging into suspicious territory. Xie Lian was thirty minutes late, something he would usually never do. “He Xuan, I swear if you did something to hold them up, I’m going to strangle you,” he whispered, under his breath.
Then his phone rang. It was Xie Lian, and he picked up with a cheery voice. “Gege! Where are you? Do you need me to come and get you?”
“Ah, no, that’s not, I have-” He cut himself off, and there was another voice on the other end of the line that he couldn’t quite make out. “Yes, just let me finish this call, then I’ll turn it off,” Xie Lian said, his voice echoing as if he’d pulled the phone away from his ear.
“Gege, what’s wrong?”
“Sorry, San Lang, it’s nothing, I just, I fell.”
“You fell?”
“Well, it rained earlier today, and the sidewalk was slick. I slipped and fell off the curb and hit my head. I think my ankle is definitely broken, but they want to keep me here to give me an MRI or something, in case I have a concussion. I did pass out for a little bit, to be fair.”
“Gege! You’re-” He gripped the table, worry flaring up in his chest. “Wait, you said they want to give you an MRI? Are you at the hospital?”
“Yes, uh, South Central.”
“Emergency room?”
“Yes, of course.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“What?! San Lang, you don’t have to do that!”
“It’s fine, gege!” Hua Cheng hung up the phone, and he quickly stepped away from the table. “Yin Yu, get this all cleaned up. I’m going to South Central Emergency. Have a room prepared at the penthouse. I’ll be bringing gege home with me tonight.”
“Yes, sir. And if He Xuan calls?”
“This is more important! But, take care of that, too.”
Hua Cheng left Paradise Manor and slid into his car. A red convertible with the top down, shiny, new coat of paint. He hit the gas, driving as fast as he could, only making one stop along the way. When he got to the hospital, he asked where Xie Lian was and lied through his teeth about being family, and he was eventually taken back to a room they’d set him up in. The lights were dim, and Hua Cheng didn’t dare brighten them.
“Gege, I’m here,” he whispered, softly, walking up to the bed.
“San Lang?” Xie Lian sat up, a blush on his face, and his eyes went from Hua Cheng’s face to the string in his hands, then up to the balloons that floated over him. He touched at his head, which was bandaged, blinking a few times. “Ah, why did you…?” He laughed, scratching the side of his face. “You didn’t need-”
“I wanted to come, gege. How could I not?” He tied the balloons to the bed, then sat down beside it with a bright smile on his face. “You still owe me a date, don’t you?”
Xie Lian’s smile flickered a bit. “Oh, right, yeah...the date. We can do it sometime when I’m...not in the hospital, though. Or if you wanted a refund, I’m sure you could contact Ling Wen. I think she’s handling all that.”
“Refund!?” Hua Cheng was shocked. “Gege, why would I refund you? You’re perfect.” He propped his arm up on the bed rail, leaning his chin on top of it. He looked up at Xie Lian, eye twinkling. Xie Lian smiled at him, still blushing, and his fingers came to rest against Hua Cheng’s cheek. “You only refund things that are trash. Like, if I’d bought Mu Qing, I’d want a refund.”
“Mu Qing wasn’t even part of the auction,” Xie Lian said, laughing a bit. Hua Cheng loved hearing him laugh.
He hummed happily as Xie Lian stroked his cheek, then moved his hand back through his hair gently. He swept it behind his shoulder and patted the braid he wore. Xie Lian’s fingers paused on the red bead in his hair. “You still have this?” he asked, smiling a bit.
“Gege gave it to me. Of course I still have it.”
“San Lang, I didn’t give it to you. You pulled it out of my ear at my birthday party eight years ago!” He laughed again, then laid down on the bed, so they were looking at each other eye to eye.
“I’m surprised you remember.”
“I do remember. You kept biting Feng Xin’s fingers.”
Hua Cheng smiled again. “He deserved it.”
“San Lang...why did you buy a date with me?” Xie Lian asked, his eyes averted. His cheeks held a rosy glow, and if Hua Cheng had been worried before, being in his presence only made it worse. How could he be so stupid as to let him walk alone? He should have insisted on picking him up. “You could ask me to dinner anytime, and I would have said yes.”
He didn’t want to tell the truth, but Hua Cheng knew that Xie Lian would see through his lies. “The thought of seeing you with another person makes me see red.”
“Why is that?”
“Is gege really going to make me say it?”
“I want to hear it.”
Before he could answer, the door opened and a doctor in a white coat strode in. Hua Cheng stood up, getting out of the way. He stood back, watching as the doctor checked the scrape on Xie Lian’s forehead, and once again, he felt rage at himself for not preventing this. Hua Cheng nodded when Xie Lian told him to wait here while he was taken for the MRI.
Xie Lian handed him his phone before the orderlies took him out in a wheelchair. “If Shi Qingxuan texts me, can you tell him where I am and not to worry?”
“Of course, gege,” he said, smiling.
Minutes after he was taken out of the room, a text did appear, and Hua Cheng read it, unable to help himself from smirking. ‘I have no idea where this guy is taking me, Xie Lian! Do you know a He Xuan? Help?!’
Xie Lian never actually texted him back, and Shi Qingxuan eventually put his phone down. Up ahead, he could see the end of the trail they were driving on. Sometime about fifteen minutes ago, He Xuan had pulled off the highway and onto a glorified dirt path. When he came to a stop, the trees cleared, and Shi Qingxuan could see the dark waters of a lake stretching before them. Out on the dock, there was a table set up.
He Xuan turned off the car, and gratefully, that industrial ear assault stopped as well. He got out and came around, opening Shi Qingxuan’s door and offering his hand.
“What is this place?” Shi Qingxuan asked, taking his hand and getting out of the car. His fingers were thin, but strong, and his grip was very firm. They walked away from the car, into the darkness, and onto the dock. Their steps clunked loudly against the wood, and the water underneath them reflected the moon above like a glassy, black mirror.
“I used to come here,” he said, carefully. “When I was younger. This is where I learned how to swim. There’s...all sorts of stuff around. Barn that way.” He pointed to a dark building off in the distance, then in the other direction, through the trees. “Cemetery is over there.”
“Did you grow up here?”
He snorted, then shook his head. “No.” He Xuan pulled out one of the chairs and Shi Qingxuan sat down. “My parents did own the land for awhile, though. Until it was bought up and they tried to turn it into a luxury retreat for the uber rich. Heard it didn’t work out. Sugar kept getting put in the gas tanks of their bulldozers.”
“Oh.” Shi Qingxuan smiled, and he glanced around. “Well, I’m glad that construction didn’t work out. It’s lovely like this. I could see coming out here and sunning by the lake. You know, when the sun’s up.”
“I’ll be back.” He Xuan walked back off down the dock, and Shi Qingxuan watched him go. He was such a strange man. So intense. HIs eyes were like fire, and his hair was as black as oil. Everything about him made Shi Qingxuan’s heart race, faster and faster. It was fear, but also excitement. His brother would lose his mind if he saw what was going on tonight.
His footsteps returned, and a picnic basket was dropped onto the table. Shi Qingxuan turned, his eyes going wide when the first thing He Xuan pulled out of the basket was a long knife. He started laughing uncontrollably, and he flipped open his fan to hide the mad, nervous smile on his face. He Xuan paused, looking at him, then he reached into the basket and took out the ham he’d brought. A whole ham. This only made Shi Qingxuan’s laughter even more unstoppable, and more and more food was piled up on the table in front of him. It was almost like Mary Poppins’ bag, impossibly deep. By the time he was done, and the basket was dropped onto the dock, there was an entire spread, with plates and cups and a bottle of wine.
“Why do you keep laughing?” he asked, unwrapping the ham from cling wrap, then cutting large servings from it to pile on their plates.
“It’s just-” Shi Qingxuan shrugged his shoulders, closing the fan and pressing it against his lips while he gathered himself. “I’m not sure if you brought me here to kill me or woo me.”
He Xuan’s eye twitched, but he didn’t reply to that. When the servings were doled out, he sat down and began to eat. Shi Qingxuan watched as he ate four slices of ham and several strips of bread in the first thirty seconds after sitting down, and he truly wondered how this was even possible. The dishes he provided were all very...homestyle delicacies. Nothing like what Shi Qingxuan was used to on dates, fine dining and all that. He took a sip of the cheap wine, and he couldn’t help but smile. Nothing about He Xuan said old money, but he didn’t have the ostentatious flare of the nouveau riche, either.
“Where are you from, if not here?” Shi Qingxuan asked, much more interested in him than the food.
“Does it matter?”
“I guess not. Who owns this land now?” The lake was beautiful, and Shi Qingxuan wanted to come here again, maybe legally the next time.
“Your brother.”
Blinking, Shi Qingxuan gave He Xuan a surprised look, and he watched him chew his last bite, then suck on the tip of his finger. “I’ve never seen it before. Was he the one who wanted to put a resort longue here?”
“Shi Wudu is a cancerous growth on the face of the world.” He Xuan sat back in his chair, intense eyes never leaving Shi Qingxuan. “And I’ll never forgive him for anything he’s ever done. You old money fucks, all of you, you don’t even know the kind of privilege you have just to exist, do you?”
“I…”
“That necklace your wearing? That could buy food for a family of four for...what? A couple of months? Maybe pay their rent for awhile. And what about that car we drove up in? If I stripped it for parts and sold it off, I could fund a homeless shelter for at least a few weeks. But that’s money you all just flush away on your jewelries and your cars and your boats, houses, servants, fancy vases. I don’t know what you all spend your money on.” He stood up, marching around the table, then he grabbed the knife and bent down by Shi Qingxuan’s side. “Do you not know how to fucking cut your own food?”
“I’m-” Shi Qingxuan flinched when He Xuan started slicing up the ham on his plate for him, and he suddenly realized he hadn’t even touched the food. “I’m a vegan,” he finally managed to squeak out, and He Xuan’s fingers paused.
“Oh.” He stood up, carrying the knife with him as he rushed off down the dock, his shoulders slumped, and he banged his hand against his head.
“He Xuan! Wait!” Shi Qingxuan stared after him, but he didn’t stop. Getting up, he ran down the dock after him. “Wait, wait! Stop running away!” He followed him off the dock and down into the grass, nearly slipping as he tried to follow him.
“What?” He finally stopped, turning around with a scowl on his face.
“Sorry! I shouldn’t have said-” Shi Qingxuan winced a little, looking down as the knife he was holding suddenly touched against his bare collarbone. He Xuan traced the tip along his skin, causing Shi Qingxuan to shudder. “Wh-what are you doing?”
“I like your skin.”
“Ah, what?” His cheeks flushed, heart beating so hard he just knew that He Xuan could hear it. “Are you angry with my brother? Me? If you want money, I’ll give you money! You don’t have to threaten me!”
“I don’t want to threaten you.”
“Haha, right that’s why you have a knife to my chest!” He watched as the knife was taken back, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He Xuan slid the knife into his back pocket. “He-He Xuan, if you...don’t want to threaten me, then...why did you say all that stuff? And um, why are you upset?”
“I don’t know.” He Xuan looked out across the lake. “I get so mad when I have to talk to anyone like you. I-I-I hate you! I hate your ilk, your money, your easy lives.” He fumbled for something in his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “I don’t know why I bought a date with you. I don’t know why I’m here.” He tried to spark a flame from his lighter, but his hands were shaking.
Shi Qingxuan stepped forward and gently took the lighter from his hand, helping him get the cigarette lit. When he did, his eyes closed, and he inhaled, and Shi Qingxuan stepped nearer to him. He Xuan looked at him, holding the cigarette to his lips. Looking down, he stared at the ring on his finger.
“Your...spouse…?” he asked, slowly.
“Died,” He Xuan answered. “Killed herself. The cancer would have gotten her eventually if she hadn’t.”
Shi Qingxuan looked down. “I’m sorry.”
“What does sorry do?” He Xuan flicked ash off the end of his cigarette, then turned to walk away.
“Wait. Wait!” Shi Qingxuan chased after him, shivering as clouds covered the moon. He caught up, and grabbed at the back of his jacket. “You couldn’t afford treatment, right? That’s what happened? That’s why you’re angry?”
“Look at the fucking world!” He Xuan turned around, eyes burning holes straight through Shi Qingxuan’s brain. “Does anyone need a reason to be fucking angry?” He took a long drag from his cigarette, then balanced it between his lips and took off his jacket to drape it around Shi Qingxuan’s shoulders. “Wear something appropriate for the weather next time.”
“Next time?” he asked, breathless, looking down when He Xuan grabbed one of his hips to drag him closer. Being with him was a whirlwind. Shi Qingxuan could hardly keep up, and when he took the cigarette from between his lips and leaned in, he couldn’t help but to shut his eyes and lean forward, expecting a kiss.
Instead, He Xuan ducked his head and bit him on the neck, hard enough to make him shriek in surprise. “Shut up,” he replied, then turned to walk away, putting his cigarette back in his mouth. Shi Qingxuan placed his hand over his neck, then quickly followed after him, walking along the edge of the lake.
Hua Cheng sat patiently as he waited for Xie Lian to come back, his feet propped up on the bed. He crossed his ankles, tugging his phone out, and called He Xuan. It rang a few times before he picked up, and Hua Cheng smiled a bit. “Did you kill him yet?” he asked.
“Do I look stupid to you?” He Xuan asked. From the other end, he could hear another voice asking who was on the phone.
“Aww, so it’s not a murder plot. It’s a real date.” Hua Cheng twirled his braid around his finger. “Xie Lian is in the hospital. Will you tell your date that?”
He Xuan groaned. “What did you do to him?”
“Nothing! He fell while walking to the Paradise Manor. What did you do to Shi Qingxuan? Take him out to your weirdo barn and show him your collection of fish corpses?”
“Hey, Crimson Rain? Drive off a bridge.” He hung up.
Hua Cheng put his phone down, sighing, then he glanced over when the door opened up again. “Gege!” He stood up, helping to lift him back onto the bed, and Xie Lian held onto his shoulders. They were face to face again, with Hua Cheng bending over him on the bed, and he leaned in just enough that their noses brushed together briefly.
Xie Lian laughed, and Hua Cheng pulled back immediately, then looked down at the wrapping they had around his ankle. His smile faded when he remembered that he was hurt, and the situation wasn’t at all what he’d wanted at the beginning of the night. “Do they know if you have a concussion yet?” he asked, and Xie Lian smiled at him and touched his head.
“No, but the X-Rays came back. It’s not broken! Just sprained. So they’re gonna go ahead and let me go home for the night.”
“No, gege is coming home with me,” he said, sitting beside him on the bed, grinning. “I’m already having a room readied for you, and you’ll need to eat before going to bed. Don’t worry. I’m taking care of everything.”
“San Lang, you don’t have to do that.”
“I want to.” He grasped Xie Lian’s hand and brought it up to his face, pressing his cheek into his palm with a smile. “Please? If you go home on your own, I’m going to stay up worrying about you all night. I’ll feel much better if you let me take you back home with me. I can even tell He Xuan to stay out all night so he won’t bother us.”
“He Xuan...that’s your friend with the dark eyeliner, right?”
Hua Cheng rolled his eye. “Is that the most noticeable thing about him?”
Xie Lian laughed. “Well, maybe when standing next to you. You tend to draw all the attention when you walk in a room.” Xie Lian sat up, taking his hand away from Hua Cheng’s face to fix the bandage wrapped around his head so it was less itchy. “But he’s always with you. Like any good friend should be. Do you live together?”
“En, he has a hard time finding work. Lost his apartment.”
“Sad.” Xie Lian frowned, reaching out to take Hua Cheng’s hand again. He interlocked their fingers together, cheeks flushing brightly.
“It’s his own fault,” Hua Cheng said, dismissing that. “He spends all his time doing illegal things and trying not to get caught instead of doing what he’s good at. He could be one of the most prolific writers of our time if he’d actually sit down and write instead of-” He cut himself off, rolling his eye. “We don’t need to talk about him, though! I’ll tell him to stay out at his barn tonight.”
“A barn? He doesn’t need to stay at a barn.” Xie Lian shook his head. “It’s cold outside. Don’t make him stay in a barn, San Lang, okay?” He stared at their hands, smiling slightly. “Are you ready to tell me the truth now? About what I asked earlier?”
Hua Cheng looked away. “You won’t like the answer, gege, so why don’t we just not worry about this?”
“Why are you so sure I won’t like the answer?” Xie Lian asked, frowning. “San Lang, I really, really like you. All I want to know-”
The door opened again, and he stopped talking. Scratching the back of his neck, Xie Lian took the clipboard the nurse brought him, signing it. She told Hua Cheng to meet them outside, and he hesitantly left, his head bowed down as he walked back to the car with his balloons in one hand. He pulled his car up into the unloading area, getting out and running around when the same nurse brought Xie Lian out. “I’ll take him,” he said, pushing the wheelchair up to the door, then he picked him up and settled him inside.
After that, it was a quick drive back to the building where he lived. Fancy apartments that went seventeen stories up, and the eighteenth was all his. All the way, Xie Lian kept their conversation light, not pressing for answers anymore, much to Hua Cheng’s relief. “The doctor said that I have to stay up all night, until they call me with the MRI results in the morning,” he said, looking out at the city lights as they drove past. “And I’m already tired.”
“We can stay up and watch a movie,” Hua Cheng said. “Anything you want!”
“You don’t have to stay up all night with me,” Xie Lian said, his voice even, but he rubbed the back of his neck as if feeling awkward about the offer. “You’re...an important person. You can’t be staying up with me and having to work tomorrow.”
“Yin Yu can take care of anything that comes up in the morning. I would rather stay up with you. And I have to be there for the club tomorrow night, anyway. I’m already a night owl, gege. Don’t worry about keeping me up. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” This was all his fault, anyway. He couldn’t let Xie Lian stay up all by himself, risk him falling asleep and never waking up. “I won’t let anything like this happen again, I swear it.”
“Huh?” Xie Lian blushed, such a brilliant red under his cheeks in the dim light of the car. “You didn’t let anything happen, San Lang. It’s my own rotten luck!” He reached across the space between them, curling his fingers around Hua Cheng’s upper arm and squeezing, so gently, yet it almost made his heart break. “But if it makes you feel better, then I’ll let you send limos to pick me up from now on.”
Hua Cheng smiled. “Limos?”
“Wh-” Xie Lian retracted his hand, his face blushing even brighter. “No, no, cars! Cars, I meant cars! That was a joke Qingxuan made earlier, I promise!”
He couldn’t hold in the laughter, shaking his head. “No, you said it now, gege. I’ll buy a limo and send it to pick you up from now on.”
“No! No limos! San Lang!”
He laughed louder, pressing his foot to the gas. They shot down the street, a red streak against the dark asphalt.
Xie Lian rubbed his cheek, then blinked and glanced down at his phone which was sitting in the cupholders between them. “Oh, right, did Qingxuan text me?” he asked, and Hua Cheng gave him a tight smile.
“Yes...something about He Xuan taking him out to his barn.”
“B-barn? Wait, the man in the black car was He Xuan? Your friend?” He reached for his phone, and Hua Cheng watched him from the corner of his eyes, clicking his teeth together lightly. Xie Lian read the message, then started texting something else to him.
“Yeah, he...I bought the date for him, since he seemed like he wanted it,” Hua Cheng admitted. “Made me look foolish, too. I ended up spending more money on one of the trash Shi Family than I did on you.”
“Oh, well it all goes to charity anyway, so who cares?” Xie Lian said, seemingly missing the point. “He’s not answering my texts. Where exactly is this barn?”
“Somewhere out of town.” Hua Cheng shrugged. “I’ve been there. He’s got it set up almost like a house. Even got electricity running to it, but there’s no water or heat or anything like that. I call it his murder barn, because only seriel killers just squat in random barns. Oh, and in the loft portion, he just has a bunch of fish skeletons for absolutely no reason except he thinks they look cool.” He rolled his eye. “He’ll tell you he didn’t get weird until after his wife died, but that’s a fucking lie. He was always weird.”
“His wife died?” Xie Lian clenched his phone a little tighter in his hand, looking from the screen back to Hua Cheng again and again. “How long ago?”
“Eh...five, six years now. They weren’t married very long. Right out of high school. She worked in the shipyard for the Water Master company, and he was snooping around looking to cause trouble all the time. He always fancied himself a bit of an eco-terrorist, but really he’s just mad that the Shi Family bought up his parents old land after they died.”
Xie Lian seemed to think for a moment, and after sending a few more texts and getting no response, he turned his head and looked over toward Hua Cheng. “Will you take me there?”
“To his barn?”
“Yes! Right now! I think Shi Qingxuan might be in trouble!”
Hua Cheng sighed. “You have a head injury.”
“Either you take me there yourself, or I’m calling Feng Xin.”
“Gege…” He sighed, then jerked the wheel and made a u-turn back toward the highway. “I can’t believe you’re that worried about him. He Xuan is harmless.”
“You just said he was an eco-terrorist!”
Hua Cheng smirked. “Well, maybe he thinks he is. But you’re right about one thing. He hates the Shi Family, and he has since he was a teenager. I don’t really think he’ll do something crazy, but he might. He’s got a bit of a temper problem.”
Xie Lian looked at him for a moment, then back down at his phone. He looked so distraught, and Hua Cheng found his face slipping into a more serious expression. “Gege, I promise, it’ll be okay. If it makes you feel better, we’ll go out and get them. But you’ll see. It’s fine!” He didn’t know that it would be fine, but Xie Lian’s shoulders did loosen a bit, and he smiled.
“Thank you, San Lang.”
“You’re welcome.” He smiled, looking at the road and plotting all the ways he was going to beat He Xuan up for causing this.
Shi Qingxuan held onto He Xuan’s arm so that he couldn’t get away again, and they meandered slowly across the field next to the lake. Their twisting path was leading ultimately to a large barn that sat ominously amongst the grass. It looked like it had dropped out of a horror movie, and the idyllic lake when viewed next to this was more akin to the setting for a sleepaway camp-esque massacre.
“Is that where you keep the bodies?” Shi Qingxuan asked, leaning in to whisper in his ear.
“Yes,” he replied, and honestly, Shi Qingxuan didn’t know if he was being serious or not. After he’d talked to Hua Cheng on the phone, they’d simply wandered their way around the expansive property. Shi Qingxuan could see why his brother wanted to build something out here. It was absolutely beautiful, and the weather was nice even this time of year. Shi Qingxuan was cold, but staying close to He Xuan helped.
Eventually, they did have to arrive at that creepy barn, and He Xuan pulled the door open. Shi Qingxuan expected either a torture chamber or cobwebs, and he ended up with neither. Stepping in, he realized electricity must be ran to this building through underground wires, because He Xuan pulled a string and a light flickered on above them. There was a dressed mattress in one corner, next to a shelf of books. Flashlights and battery powered lanterns sat in convenient places. There was a table, and shelves along the walls. A ladder went up to a second story, but it was cast in shadow so Shi Qingxuan couldn’t see exactly what was up there.
“This is...homey.”
He Xuan went and sat on the table, pulling up his sleeves with his cigarette balanced between his lips. It was burning short, so he took one last drag, then put it out against the table. “Then make yourself at home.”
Shi Qingxuan smiled at him, then crossed his arms over his chest, stepping around to look at the shelves. “Do you live here?” he asked, seeing that there were photos on the shelves. He picked one up, looking it over. He Xuan and a woman sat in front of a window with the cityscape behind them.
“No, I live with Crimson Rain. Hua Cheng.”
“Crimson Rain?” Shi Qingxuan put the picture down, turning to see He Xuan fiddling with the band around his finger. “Uh, you were talking on the phone to him earlier?”
“Yeah, he was telling me how great his date was going.” He rolled his eyes.
“Why do you call him that?” Shi Qingxuan asked, coming over to settle on the table beside him. He hopped up, sitting down cross-legged, head tilted. He opened his fan and sent a few wafts of air toward He Xuan, ruffling his hair. Laughing, he hid his face and tried not to feel intimidated by the intense look he was getting. “Is it a nickname?”
“He probably doesn’t even remember,” He Xuan said, muttering this under his breath. “When we were kids...we used to go to the public library and play online fantasy MMORPG’s. There was this one, it was really shitty. Like, pixelated animation shitty. But we pretended to be kings with super powers, and it honestly felt like the only place we were ever able to be happy.” He rubbed at his knuckles. “We were both kids from the slums back then. And he always tried to run around with the rich kids, but I didn’t care to. My parents...they saved up every penny they had to buy this land out here, worked their hands to the bone. I was working in the kitchen as a dishwasher at this seedy gangster’s restaurant when I was thirteen. All so we could have this.”
Shi Qingxuan frowned, looking down at his nails. They were manicured, pretty, painted to look as fancy as possible. The thumbs had detailed leaves painted on in gold, which shimmered even in this dull lighting. He’d never felt...guilty for being wealthy, before. But the disparity had never been so evident. He Xuan’s jeans had rips in them, and they weren’t there for fashion. His shoes were old, his jacket was old, his hair cut was probably the end result of doing it himself instead of going to a salon. “They built the barn?” he asked.
“Hm. Yeah, they did. But that’s all they had the time to build before they died. And after that, after they were buried, men in black suits showed up. They said someone else wanted to buy the property, and the previous owner wanted that money more than they wanted to honor the contract that was already signed. They fought, and I fought with them. But eventually...didn’t mean anything. I got booted out.”
“And you came back and started putting sugar in the bulldozers’ gas tanks?” Shi Qingxuan asked.
He Xuan smiled. “I did more than that. I blew them up.”
“Until they went away.”
“Until it was too expensive to make the resort worth it.” He looked up, then leaned across the table, eyes brighter than they’d been before. “Are you gonna go turn me in now? Call your brother? Have me arrested and charged and thrown in jail?”
“No…” Shi Qingxuan flushed as He Xuan got closer. “B-but, I’d like to know something. He’d never sell the land back, so why?”
“The principle of the thing.” He Xuan gently touched his chin, his thumb and forefinger holding him still. “No one has the right to be over another person. It’s an evil concept, authority. The worship of riches, commodities, it’s all to cover up the truth. The world is inherently broken, and sometimes it takes violence to fix it. To force it back into shape.”
“You’re like one of those crazy people from Twitter,” Shi Qingxuan said, his voice trembling.
He rolled his eyes in response to that, then shoved a kiss onto his lips. It was hard, and Shi Qingxuan actually dropped his fan off the table, fingers splaying outwards. He put his hands on He Xuan’s chest, pushing him until he backed off. His brooding eyes lowered, then he slid off the table and walked away, raking his hand through his hair.
Shi Qingxuan blinked, touching his lips. They tingled, and he could taste nicotine. Still, all he wanted to do was understand. “You live with Hua Cheng, right? Well he’s rich. Maybe not as rich as my brother, but he’s not poor.”
“Class traitor. I’ll be glad to get rid of him when the time comes.” He Xuan turned to look at him, head tilting downward. “Sorry.”
“No, no. It’s fine.” Was it fine? Shi Qingxuan glanced around the barn again, wondering just how fine he was if he was fine with this. Something was clearly wrong with his head if he didn’t see how creepy this all was.
“Do you want me to take you home?”
“No…” He bit his lip. Still tingling from the kiss. “You’re rough, aren’t you?”
He Xuan glanced away. “I wasn’t always. Things change. So do people.”
“Do you think I could change?”
His eyes scanned him, nearly dancing, and he scoffed. “Why should you need to change? You have everything you could ever want. I bet you could pay someone to carry you around in a palanquin all day, everyday, and it wouldn’t make a dent in your brother’s immense fortune.”
“Well...if being rich is as bad as you say it is, then I don’t...want to be.” Shi Qingxuan shrugged, then stepped off the table. He came over, putting his hands on He Xuan’s shoulders. “You seem...weird at first. Psychotic. Wasn’t entirely unsure you weren’t going to chop me up and throw me in the lake.”
“I still might,” he said, flatly.
“Haha, yeah, uh…” Shi Qingxuan looked down, a nervous smile dancing on his face. “But I like you, and I’d hate for you to disappear as soon as I go back home, just because you think I’m some stupid rich person who doesn’t care about the things you care about.”
“You don’t care about the things I care about.”
“Okay! Maybe! But I’m willing to learn!” Shi Qingxuan clung to him, getting closer, and he kissed gently at the corner of his mouth. “Teach me how to be rough. How to live in a barn. How to...not care about these things.” He shook his wrists so his bracelets jangled. “I don’t know… I think I like you. You clearly think you like me since you dropped thirty grand of your friend’s money on me.”
He glanced away, but Shi Qingxuan threw himself forward into a kiss anyway. He locked his hands in He Xuan’s hair to drag him forward, and it only took a moment for him to process the kiss was returned fervently. Their lips melded into one, and arms trapped Shi Qingxuan’s body like a vice. He founds himself turned around, his feet moving independently of his brain, because all he could focus on was kissing and kissing and kissing.
Teeth bit down on his lip, and he let out an, “ah!” He Xuan only gave him a moment before doing it again, then he was pushed backward onto the mattress on the floor. At least it had a sheet over it, he thought, then glanced down as He Xuan straddled his hips and ran a hand up his tight top, up to his throat, and he held on while Shi Qingxuan gazed up at him with wide eyes. He Xuan scowled at him, but there wasn’t any heat behind the expression, and he put no pressure behind his hand. His arm quivered, emotion dancing in his eyes. Slowly, he leaned in, until they were close enough to feel each other’s breath, until he could smell the smoke on his breath.
“How badly...do you want to be a better person?” He Xuan asked him, hovering just above his lips. “Or do you just want to get laid?” He Xuan removed his hand, sliding it down to Shi Qingxuan’s hips instead.
“Both,” he said, squeaking a bit as a cold hand slid up his shirt.
“Liar,” he hissed, then went for the throat again, this time with his mouth. His shirt was pushed up, stomach exposed, and He Xuan leaned in to trail kisses along his soft skin. His teeth bit down, and Shi Qingxuan screamed and dug his fingers into his hair, nails scraping on his scalp. “Do you want me to stop?”
“No!” He gasped, lifting his head to peer down at him, lips trembling. “Don’t you dare.”
He Xuan’s lips twitched upward, then he tugged at Shi Qingxuan’s jeans, pulling them down over his hips. His teeth scraped against his skin, and Shi Qingxuan turned his face away, blushing hotly. He stared at the books on the shelf instead, the words etched on their spines seeming like a foreign language to him as He Xuan bit and sucked and grabbed.
His hand sunk further down, grabbing at the back of his shirt, and He Xuan glanced up at him. They made eye contact after a moment, and his fingers back slipping down the back of Shi Qingxuan’s pants. “Oh fu-” He cut himself off, nails digging into his ass and gripping him, causing him to whine. He looked away again, panting softly. “Hah! Don’t pinch me!”
“You like it,” He Xuan replied, his mouth grinning against Shi Qingxuan’s skin.
“Maybe, but! Ah!” He writhed, sliding his hand down the back of his shirt to scratch along his back, then he screamed again, overcome by the sensations. He wanted to beg, but his brain couldn’t find his mouth, and He Xuan continued taking him apart.
“Qingxuan!”
Wait, that wasn’t He Xuan’s voice.
The doors to the barn were thrown open again, and Xie Lian ran in, a large bandage wrapped around his head, and his eyes went wide when he saw them.
“Xie Lian, what are you doing here?” Shi Qingxuan asked, then he grabbed his shirt and tugged his back down over his chest.
“Ah! Ahhhh!” He slapped his hands over his eyes. “Ahhh! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!!” He turned and fled the barn just as Hua Cheng casually walked in.
“Hey,” he greeted, grinning, acting like this was the most casual thing in the world. Shi Qingxuan shifted, and He Xuan immediately pulled away and sat up.
“Crimson Rain what the fuck are you doing here!?”
“Making sure you’re not murdering anybody,” he said. “Xie Lian heard the screaming and came running.” Hua Cheng ducked out of the way when a book came flying at his head.
Blushing Shi Qingxuan sat up and touched He Xuan on the chest. “Hey, it’s fine, it’s fine.” Shifting, he looked around for his phone, then shook his head. “I must have left my phone on the docks. Xie Lian must have been worried.”
“Yeah, plus, you know. You’re just a creep, so of course he’d think you were dismembering corpses out here. So are you going to keep fucking him?”
He Xuan glanced over at Hua Cheng, then reached a hand to his back pocket and pulled out that knife that was still there, and Shi Qingxuan let out a shriek when he saw it, remembering it. Hua Cheng dashed off, laughing, and He Xuan stood up, stumbling over the boots he’d already kicked off. “I’m going to kill you, Crimson Rain! I fucking swear it!”
“Come get me, Black Water! You’ve never won in a fight before!”
He took off running, leaving Shi Qingxuan on the mattress, his heart heart beating out of his chest.
Eventually, when everyone calmed down, they all sat around the lake and watched the sunrise. He Xuan smoked, one arm around Shi Qingxuan’s waist, and Xie Lian stared at them from across the grass with a sigh.
Turning to look at Hua Cheng, Xie Lian cleared his throat softly to get his attention. “I was just thinking,” he said, softly, placing his hands together over his knees. “If you won’t be the one to say it, then I guess I will… If you want to...date me...then I would be happy if you did. But if not, then no pressure, we can just keep hanging out, whatever. Maybe I’m misreading the signals.”
“You’re not!” Shi Qingxuan called, leaning back into He Xuan, who swooped in to bite his neck. He let out a squeal, then turned to kiss him hard on the lips.
Xie Lian couldn’t imagine going zero to a hundred like that, but he reached out to take Hua Cheng’s hand, looking up to see he was clearly trying to hide the blush on his face.
“Are you sure, gege?” he asked, one shimmering eye watching him.
“I’m so sure.” Xie Lian, got closer, smiling when Hua Cheng tugged his jacket off and put it around his shoulders. “I’ve been waiting for like a year for you to ask me out.” He leaned up and kissed his cheek. “You didn’t have to buy me from a celebrity auction.
“I’d buy you every time.” Hua Cheng smiled brightly at him.
“Euck,” He Xuan said, glaring over in their direction. He stood up, grabbing Shi Qingxuan’s arm and dragging him off toward the docks.
Xie Lian still didn’t really want to look either of them in the eye, so he glanced down when they passed by. Turning, he grabbed Hua Cheng’s face and pressed a kiss to lips, surprising him. “I just think that...you’re really good,” he said, softly. “And you should stop buying me things, because my apartment is small, and I’m running out of space.”
“So come live with me.”
“Too fast!” Xie Lian said, shaking his head, but he couldn’t help the warm feeling that bubbled up in his chest when he thought about it.
Turning, they both looked toward the dock when someone screamed, and watched as He Xuan tossed Shi Qingxuan into the water, then dove in after him. “This is so COLD! No let me go!” They watched them swimming around, splashing each other.
“Maybe cold water will do them good,” Hua Cheng said,
“Maybe.” Xie Lian agreed, then shielded his face and looked out toward the orange glow of sunrise. He bit his lip, then kicked off his shoes and stood up, running straight out into the lake.
“Gege! You have a head injury!”
He reached up and ripped the bandage off his head, then dove into the water to swim out. And just as he’d calculated, Hua Cheng came after him, and they both broke through the surface of the water at the same time.
“You’re going to be the death of me!” Hua Cheng exclaimed, and Xie Lian kissed his lips softly.
“Never,” he said, nuzzling at his nose. “Promise.”
They would have kissed again, if He Xuan didn’t come up behind him and ducked Hua Cheng’s head underwater. They attacked each other, doing more punching than splashing while Shi Qingxuan and Xie Lian floated a safe distance away. The water was chilled, and the day was new.
“I’m going to give this land back to him,” Shi Qingxuan said, wiping at his mouth. “Sneaking the paperwork by Ge won’t be too hard.”
Xie Lian looked over at him, then smiled. “That’ll be nice. Maybe he can build a real house and have a collector’s room for his fish skeletons.”
“His-his what?” Shi Qingxuan asked, look at Xie Lian with wide eyes.
“San Lang said he had fish skeletons.”
“I have to see them!”
They both looked back to Hua Cheng and He Xuan, who were doing their best to drown each other, then they took off for the shore. Rushing through the grass, they rushed back to the barn, finally hearing their boyfriends calling behind them. Xie Lian climbed up the ladder first, finding another light switch, and Shi Qingxuan nearly fell off the ladder when his head popped up.
Whatever he’d been expecting, it wasn’t this. At least two dozen fish skeletons were indeed wired together and hung around the top of the loft, giving them all the illusion of swimming around through the air. It was some sort of ichthyologist wet dream, and Shi Qingxuan had to be coaxed the rest of the way up the ladder.
“Why is he so weird?” he asked, coming face to face with the gaping mouth of one of these fish, shuddering and taking a step back.
“Why are you so into it?” He Xuan asked, dripping hair and eyeliner running around his eyes, and he peeked his head up into the loft from his spot on the ladder. He climbed the rest of the way up, smoothly walking between them. He casually walked along the very edge of loft, where there was no railing built, glancing over the straight drop off into the rest of the barn. He lightly stroked the rib bones of the fish he passed, like one would treat a pet, nearly cooing at them.
“I’m still not sure you’re not a murderer,” Shi Qingxuan said, after a moment. “This...this has creepy murderer written all over it, okay? You can’t be mad at me for thinking it.”
He Xuan shrugged. “It’s fine with me.”
Xie Lian glanced over at Hua Cheng, who appeared at the edge of the loft. “That’s fine with him?”
“He’s used to people thinking he’s a creep, because he is one.”
He Xuan turned around, glaring, then he pulled Shi Qingxuan into a kiss. “Am I creep, Qingxuan?”
“Little bit,” he answered, then yelped as He Xuan grabbed his thigh and shoved him back against the wall, kissing him harder. “But I like it!” he exclaimed, breathing hard, and He Xuan watched him from underneath his bangs.
Xie Lian took that as his cue to leave, chasing Hua Cheng back down the ladder and following him outside. The lake looked very blue now that day had arrived, and Xie Lian let out a large yawn as they walked back to the car.
“Should we go back and get our shoes?” He got into the car when Hua Cheng unlocked it, plucking at his wet shirt. The chill of being soaking wet was starting to get to him.
“Nah.” Hua Cheng smiled at him. “Let’s just sit here for awhile.”
“Okay.” Xie Lian smiled at him. He watched him as he turned on the car and put the heater on. He blushed when Hua Cheng kissed him on the cheek. “I’m grateful,” he said, softly, linking their fingers together and leaning forward into the heater’s warmth.
“For what, gege?”
“The charity auction. And Qingxuan making me be a part of it. If I hadn’t, then we wouldn’t be here right now.”
“Soaking wet, parked next to He Xuan’s murder barn?”
He laughed, “Yes. Together. I like that we’re together…”
Hua Cheng glanced down to their hands, blushing a little bit. “I...I’m very grateful, too, then. Because that’s all I’ve ever really wanted.”
“So let’s stay together, then!” Xie Lian squeezed his hand tighter.
“Okay, if that’s what gege wants.” He leaned over, giving him a gentle kiss.
“It is. It’s exactly what I want.” Xie Lian couldn’t help but gaze at him, his eyes getting a little lost as he tried to memorize every detail. Hua Cheng’s hair was plastered against his forehead and cheeks, dripping onto his shoulders and chest. He lounged back against the seat, somehow looking comfortable in spite of it all.
“When will the hospital call?” Hua Cheng asked.
“I don’t know,” Xie Lian replied, picking up his phone from where he’d left it. He checked the many, many missed calls, all from Feng Xin and Mu Qing. Then, he dropped his phone back into the cupholder. “But you’re going to have to do something to help me stay awake.”
He turned to look at the backseat, where all the get-well-soon balloons were still floating. “Oh, I think I can come up with something…”
Xie Lian’s laugh was cut off by Hua Cheng’s lips pressed against his, and they melted into each other as the blue of the orange light of the morning sun rose in the blue sky, bathing the lake and the barn in warmth and comfort.