Bai Shi sped all the way home. Pei Cangyu clung to his waist in a state of self-abandonment, his mind a chaotic blur. Who liked whom? Who hated whom? He wished someone would just make a decision for him so he could stop guessing. Dammit, high schoolers were busy people!
They arrived.
Bai Shi took off his helmet and turned to look at Pei Cangyu, who was still clutching his waist as if trying to morph into an ostrich. "We’re here."
Pei Cangyu hopped off instantly, shoved his helmet into Bai Shi’s arms, and turned to leave. Bai Shi sighed and grabbed his arm. "Are we still fighting?"
Pei Cangyu huffed, his tone sharp. "I never wanted to fight with you in the first place."
Bai Shi didn’t let go. He pulled Pei Cangyu a little closer, his voice soft and gentle. "What are you thinking about?"
As the distance between them closed, Pei Cangyu leaned back slightly and lowered his head. "If only I knew what I was thinking..."
"Then how about you just stop thinking?" Bai Shi pulled him closer. His arm reached around Pei Cangyu’s back, almost encircling him. Pei Cangyu kept his head down, feeling as though he were being enveloped by something.
Pei Cangyu tried to dodge, but that arm had already hooked around his waist, pulling him flush against Bai Shi. Still straddling the motorcycle, Bai Shi reached out to hold him, tilting his face up to look at Pei Cangyu tenderly. "I’ll listen to whatever you say, no matter what’s on your mind."
It was that feeling again. Pei Cangyu clenched his fists. He always felt like something was off, like something was hidden beneath this ambiguous atmosphere. If he didn't have this intuition, he might have simply succumbed to the intoxication of such a tender night. After all, there was nothing to fear; Bai Shi was a very special person to him. But there was something lurking here that gave Pei Cangyu an inexplicable sense of irritation, making it impossible for him to close his eyes and simply accept this relationship.
And so, Pei Cangyu took a step back. He watched the light in Bai Shi’s eyes flicker out. Bai Shi’s arm reached out futilely before tactfully withdrawing. Bai Shi gave a bitter smile. "Goodnight."
Bai Shi had been the first to say "be together," but Pei Cangyu hadn't responded. Pei Cangyu had been the first to mention "dating," but Bai Shi hadn't responded. One of them always took a step back, keeping everything in a delicate, precarious balance. Pei Cangyu realized that at this distance, neither of them had the right to pry into the other's life. Not too far, yet not too close.
It was a safe distance.
He watched Bai Shi’s retreating figure. The two of them entered the house in silence. One went to pour a drink, the other went to eat some bread. Madara ran to Pei Cangyu’s feet; Pei Cangyu tore off a piece of bread for him, but Madara turned up his nose at it.
Pei Cangyu tugged on Madara’s ear and walked past him toward the stairs. He cleared his throat, looking at Bai Shi’s silhouette standing in the shadows by the window. "I’m going up now."
Bai Shi raised his glass slightly without turning around, signaling that he heard him.
Pei Cangyu went upstairs.
Even as he lay in bed and drifted into sleep, his confusion remained unresolved.
***
The next day was still thick with fog.
Pei Cangyu sighed the moment he woke up. Although he didn't need to head out until the afternoon, judging by the density, the fog likely wouldn't lift all day.
Indeed, the city had officially entered a period of heavy fog that would last about a week.
When Pei Cangyu arrived at the convenience store that afternoon, the world was still a hazy shroud. He had used a flashlight the whole way and was a few minutes late.
Gao Qian and Gao Tang were both there.
There were no customers in the store. Gao Qian was flipping through adult magazines on the rack. When Pei Cangyu walked in, Gao Qian glanced at him, curled his lips into a smirk, and let out a mocking whistle. The others around him laughed with ill intent.
Gao Tang, who was drinking water, walked over and threw an arm around Pei Cangyu’s shoulder. "Who would’ve thought? So, how is he? You know, as a man?"
Pei Cangyu shifted away. "How is who?"
Gao Tang unfurled a rolled-up newspaper. "The head of the Bai family, that’s who."
Pei Cangyu froze instantly.
On the newspaper, Bai Shi, wearing silver-rimmed glasses and looking every bit the rising star, appeared in front of the Bai Corporation building. He was walking out, head turned toward someone beside him, one hand in his pocket and the other swinging casually. It was a candid shot that radiated a brilliant future. As the newspaper was spread open, a photograph slipped out and fluttered to the floor. In the photo, Bai Shi was kissing a man.
The man was only visible from the back, but Pei Cangyu recognized himself immediately.
Looking at the photo on the ground, his first thought was actually: *Damn, Bai Shi really didn't close his eyes.*
Gao Tang pointed to a man behind him. "This kid loves playing with cameras. Didn't expect him to have such skills." He kicked the photo on the ground. "Doesn't it look familiar?"
Pei Cangyu didn't budge. "None of my business."
"Don't be so cold," Gao Tang said with a grin. "I was planning on negotiating some terms with you."
Pei Cangyu walked past him toward the back to change into his uniform. "No negotiations. It has nothing to do with me."
His palms were slick with cold sweat, but he forced himself not to look.
Gao Tang pulled out his phone, looking disappointed. "That’s a shame. I guess I’ll just have to talk to him face-to-face."
Pei Cangyu stared as Gao Tang began dialing. "What are you doing?"
Gao Tang finished pressing the numbers and held the phone to his ear. "Calling the real protagonist, of course. After all, his face is the one showing."
"How do you have his number!" Pei Cangyu was shocked. Then, a thought struck him, and he whirled around to look at the Skinny One. The only time he left his phone unattended was when he was changing. The Skinny One must have seen him enter his passcode. "You..."
The Skinny One turned his head away.
"Good thing you saved the number," Gao Tang laughed while waiting for the call to connect. "Saved me a lot of trouble."
The call went through.
"Ah, Mr. Bai Shi? I’m a friend of Pei Cangyu’s... What do you mean? Pei Cangyu has friends now..."
Pei Cangyu lunged forward, but he was immediately pinned down by several quick-acting thugs. Someone grabbed his head and slammed it into a shelf. The shelf collapsed with a loud crash, and blood immediately began to seep from Pei Cangyu’s forehead. He kicked one of them away, but another put him in a chokehold from behind while others began punching him hard in the gut. Gao Qian sat in the back, chuckling.
Gao Tang glanced at the scuffle over by Pei Cangyu and continued the conversation undisturbed. "Yes, why don't you come over? Pei Cangyu’s been injured... How? A car accident... Oh, don't mention it, it’s just what friends do... Not at all... Right, I understand."
The struggle on Pei Cangyu’s side had died down. He was kneeling on the floor, his head being held up by his hair, his face covered in blood.
Pei Cangyu looked up at Gao Tang. "He won't come."
Gao Tang put his phone down. "He said he’ll be here in ten minutes."
"..."
Gao Tang looked outside and muttered to himself, "With fog this thick, ten minutes seems unlikely."
Pei Cangyu spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm. "He’s not just anyone. The Bai family is powerful... He has over eight hundred security guards..."
Gao Qian looked at him like he was an idiot. "You’re so nervous you can't even tell a convincing lie?" He laughed and sat on a high stool. "Doesn't matter. Do you know Xu Qingyou?"
Pei Cangyu searched his memory for the name he’d seen in political news. It seemed to be someone with a lot of clout.
Gao Tang picked up the photo from the floor. "The Bai family isn't the first one we’ve taken down." He narrowed his eyes with a smile. "Pei Cangyu, don't underestimate us."
Pei Cangyu frowned. He knew there was a reason these people had been able to act so lawlessly for so long.
Exactly ten minutes later, Bai Shi pushed the door open and ran in.
He was panting, his face flushed, and he was dressed very lightly. He looked terrified, glancing from one person to another. When he saw Pei Cangyu’s blood-streaked face, he immediately took a step back in fright, looking as if he were about to turn and bolt. Gao Tang, quick as a flash, blocked him and locked the door.
Gao Tang patted Bai Shi on the back and pointed at Pei Cangyu. "Go see him."
"Can I?" Bai Shi asked Gao Tang first.
The people nearby burst into laughter. They had seen cowardly rich heirs before, but never one this pathetic.
Gao Tang nodded. Bai Shi stumbled toward Pei Cangyu, his tall frame looking like a fragile leaf, trembling with fear. He tried to weave around the thugs; one of them intentionally shouted to scare him, and Bai Shi jumped, slamming into the checkout counter. He winced in pain, gasping for air.
This only made the laughter louder.
Bai Shi finally reached Pei Cangyu’s side. He slowly helped him up and whispered, "It wasn't a car accident, was it...?"
Before Pei Cangyu could respond, Gao Tang cut in. "Mr. Bai is right. It certainly wasn't."
Someone handed the photo to Bai Shi. His face went deathly pale the moment he saw it. He leaned against the wall, trembling, and the photo slipped from his fingers. Bai Shi covered his mouth. "If people find out..."
Pei Cangyu turned to look at him.
Gao Tang walked over and had someone bring chairs for Bai Shi and Pei Cangyu. They sat down, positioned much lower than Gao Tang, who sat high up, looking down at them. He spoke to Bai Shi first. "Mr. Bai, this isn't right. Pei Cangyu took such a beating for you, and you don't even show any concern?"
Gao Tang told the Skinny One to find some bandages and gauze to patch Pei Cangyu up.
Bai Shi murmured softly, "He’ll heal anyway..."
Pei Cangyu shot him a look.
Gao Tang scoffed and looked at Pei Cangyu. "You’re doing this for a guy like this?"
Pei Cangyu said nothing.
Gao Tang waved the photo in his hand. "I heard you’re restructuring some media company? Tsk tsk, it would be bad if something this big leaked right now. To be honest, I’ve already received offers for this. I’m a poor man; it’s impossible not to be tempted. But I’m not the type to kick a man when he’s down, so I brought you here to discuss things. You understand, right?"
Bai Shi looked up sharply, asking with desperate hope, "How much money do you want?"
Gao Tang smiled. "I may be poor, but I have my principles. Besides money, there’s one other thing. A small matter."
Bai Shi nodded. "Our Bai family is very powerful..."
Gao Tang raised a hand to stop him. "Not the Bai family. I want Pei Cangyu to do a small favor."
Pei Cangyu, hearing his name, looked up and glared at him. "What do you want?"
Gao Tang chuckled. "Don't be so tense. It’s a small thing. I just want you to run an errand and deliver something."
Pei Cangyu didn't speak. Bai Shi tugged on his clothes from the side. "Just go..."
Pei Cangyu didn't move. He had heard of "delivering things" before. Sometimes these people would find outsiders to do it when dealing with more dangerous individuals. It was commonly known as "swapping the hook." Whether the "hook" was caught by the other side or by the police, it wouldn't lead back to the people behind the scenes. At most, they’d catch a few small fry. The danger was that you might never come back. When Pei Cangyu was a freshman, a job like this paid five thousand yuan. He had almost done it once, if not for the kid who lived upstairs—he’d been caught "swapping the hook" to deliver drugs and was sentenced to twenty years. Three years ago, he was granted leave for good behavior to visit his family’s graves, only to be stabbed to death in front of his mother’s tomb. No one ever found out who did it. Pei Cangyu might have done it, but later the school waived his tuition and fees, so he never considered it again.
Now that they were coming for him with these tactics, he didn't need to think twice to know this was bad news.
"Why me?" Pei Cangyu looked at Gao Tang.
"You’re quick on your feet," Gao Tang smiled meaningfully. "And you’re clean. It’s perfect."
Bai Shi tugged on him again. "Please go... do me this favor..."
Pei Cangyu sighed and turned to look at Bai Shi. "Do you even know what he’s asking me to do?"
Bai Shi’s eyes were nearly brimming with tears. He shook his head pitifully, like a large dog.
Pei Cangyu opened his mouth, staring at Bai Shi, but said nothing.
He turned his head away and lowered it.
Bai Shi asked in a small voice, "Is it very dangerous?"
Pei Cangyu didn't answer. Gao Tang spread his hands and smiled. "How could it be?"
Gao Tang then asked Bai Shi, "Young Master Bai, how about you call the Bai family and see what they can do? It looks like Pei Cangyu doesn't really want to go..."
Bai Shi waved his hands frantically. "No, no! The people in the Bai family can't know. Please, I’m begging you..."
Gao Tang acted as if he were in a difficult position. "Then what should we do? Why don't you try persuading Pei Cangyu again?"
Bai Shi bit his lip and turned to Pei Cangyu, saying softly, "Pei Cangyu, just go this once... it shouldn't be that dangerous..."
His gentle tone now was different from before. It lacked that sense of control he usually had. Now, he was just a useless, uneducated rich heir relying on someone else to stand up for him, refusing to hear the consequences, only wanting to beg others for help.
Pei Cangyu found it funny. He shook his head and laughed a few times. Because suddenly, he understood many things. The dissonance in his so-called "emotional entanglement" with Bai Shi finally had an explanation. It was because Bai Shi was hiding, dodging, standing behind him and playing a role—just as he was playing the role of a cowardly rich heir today. Even learning movie lines was just playing the part of a romantic lead. It was just that his acting was too good, and Pei Cangyu, already unsettled, had let his heart flutter for those eyes and stumbled blindly into the trap.
Because at the end of the day, on the night Bai Yinhua died, Bai Shi hadn't actually been screwing someone in that alley, had he?
So, what was Bai Shi doing in that alley that night?
Bai Shi’s eyes lit up with hope as he looked at Gao Tang. "He’ll go. Tell him where to go, quickly."
Gao Tang reached out and pinched Bai Shi’s fair chin. Bai Shi frowned slightly and tried to pull away, but he couldn't escape Gao Tang’s pincer-like grip. Gao Tang said, "Then shouldn't you say thank you to him?"
Bai Shi couldn't move his face. He shifted his gaze toward Pei Cangyu. "Thank you..."
Pei Cangyu kept his head down as he stood up. He reached out and grabbed Gao Tang’s arm, his voice low. "Let him go."
Gao Tang released his grip and smiled, casting a contemptuous glance at Bai Shi. He stood up, took something from one of his men, and handed it to Pei Cangyu. He slung an arm around Pei Cangyu’s shoulder and led him toward the door.
Pei Cangyu stopped after two steps and turned to look at Bai Shi. "I’ve figured it out now. I get it. I’m not an idiot, you know."
Bai Shi stared at him blankly.
"You don't have to pretend to like me, and I never planned on telling the police that our meeting that day was a coincidence. You don't have to pretend to be afraid; I would have gone today anyway. Why bother?"
Pei Cangyu turned around as soon as he finished. Gao Tang kept his arm around his shoulder as they walked out.
Back in the store, with every word Pei Cangyu spoke, Bai Shi’s expression darkened by a degree.
Bai Shi’s gaze was fixed on the arm draped over Pei Cangyu’s shoulder. He watched until they disappeared out the door. Gao Qian kicked Bai Shi’s shoulder. "Young Master, do you only go for men, or are you into both...?"
The people around him snickered at Bai Shi. Bai Shi only stared at Pei Cangyu’s retreating back. A pleasant expression gradually surfaced on his face, and a hint of manic energy flickered in his eyes. He seemed almost happy.
Gao Tang saw Pei Cangyu out, gave him the location, lit a cigarette for himself, and glanced back at Bai Shi huddled in the chair. He snorted. "You know, I’ve seen plenty of people like him... even if something happens to you, he won't bother asking about you. He’ll just go on living his life..."
Gao Tang wasn't saying this out of sympathy. It was more like a shared realization among people from the same environment.
Pei Cangyu looked at him impatiently. "Do you want me to go or not?"
Gao Tang laughed. "Go on."
Pei Cangyu zipped up his jacket. "Fine. This way, I won't owe him anything ever again."
Gao Tang turned and went back inside.
Pei Cangyu looked back once. As the bell chimed, the door slowly closed. Bai Shi was still curled up in the small chair, surrounded by people pushing and mocking him. Bai Shi didn't look up, but his lips seemed to be curled into a smile.
The door shut, and the fog closed in. Pei Cangyu shook his head, hesitated at the entrance for a moment, then turned and left.
As long as he went, even though Gao Tang and his lot weren't good people, they wouldn't do anything to Bai Shi.
Once inside, Gao Tang didn't even look at Bai Shi. He walked straight to Gao Qian. "He’s gone."
Gao Qian nodded and pointed at Bai Shi. "What about him?"
Gao Tang waved a hand dismissively. "Leave him be."
"You," Bai Shi suddenly looked up at Gao Tang. "Give me a cigarette."
His voice had changed. His expression had changed. His gaze had changed. As he stood up, they finally realized that he was actually a very tall man.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 白氏 | Bai Corporation / Bai Group | The business empire owned by the Bai family. |
| 换钩儿 | Swapping the hook | Underworld slang for using a decoy or a mule to deliver illegal goods to minimize risk for the main players. |
| 徐庆游 | Xu Qingyou | A high-ranking political figure mentioned in the text. |
| 马达拉 | Madara | Pei Cangyu's pet (likely a cat or dog). |
