Qi Jing slipped on his mask and glanced around at the surroundings. Weeds sprouted everywhere, and moss clung to the walls.
It was very humid.
A bit like that woodshed.
“Thirsty? The sun’s out—I’ll grab you a bottle of water,” Jiang Xiuyuan said, rolling up his sleeve as he turned his head to ask.
The young man in front of him had fully developed an air of delicacy.
Even a cheap raincoat could chafe his skin red.
Maybe he really should be pampered like that.
Jiang Xiuyuan actually had a hard time imagining Qi Jing living on Great Cool Mountain. After all, his looks were simply too refined—they clashed with that kind of environment.
It wasn’t that the mountains lacked pretty boys and girls; it was just that the person before him showed no trace of that rural flavor at all.
He could have been born and raised in the Capital City.
“Alright, then should I come with you?” The young man took a few steps forward.
“No need. Some folks from the factory are trickling back, and the streets are getting crowded. Just wait for me here in the courtyard and take a breather.”
Jiang Xiuyuan waved a hand and headed off to the supply distribution point first.
The smart wristband on Qi Jing’s wrist stood out clearly. The black strap contrasted nicely with his skin, giving off a sleek, minimalist vibe.
He stood in the courtyard for a moment.
996 was off doing who-knows-what again, and last time it hadn’t even finished.
What could there possibly be in Macau…
“Hey, you little brat!” In the distance, a middle-aged woman raised her hand to strike the girl, who looked about fourteen or fifteen.
Qi Jing frowned and couldn’t help walking over to ask what was going on.
But the woman couldn’t explain clearly. She merely glanced at Qi Jing, seeming displeased.
Then she hurriedly dragged her child away.
“We’re fine…”
The girl only let out a muffled grunt from start to finish, never saying a word.
She seemed mute.
Lin Village sat in a low-lying area and had been hit hard by the disaster. It bordered the mountains, though that particular peak had mostly been mined out. Still, the overall environment looked pretty dismal.
Word was that the local public elementary school couldn’t attract teachers or students anymore. A single class might hold four grades’ worth of kids—a common issue around here.
Qi Jing had experienced it himself, and earlier that morning, overhearing the villagers’ chatter had left him a bit dazed. He’d long since left that world behind.
The mother and daughter were still walking away into the distance.
A strange discomfort stirred in Qi Jing’s chest. He lowered his head to send Jiang Xiuyuan a message, then followed after them.
Lin Village was close to the township government, and the supply hub was nearby too. That’s why the bigwigs tended to show up here.
Of course, most of them just came for photo ops to pad their inspection reports.
The girl did seem to be struggling the whole way. Her mother grew more irritated, lashing out with her hand and muttering scoldings under her breath.
Until they reached the Village Committee building.
Qi Jing didn’t get it—what were they doing here?
Not until he spotted the row of black cars. One of them even looked familiar.
It was around three-thirty now. Some of the leaders had rushed over overnight. They wouldn’t rest in the rooms the Village Committee provided; most hunkered down in their MPVs instead.
The middle-aged woman shoved her daughter forward, gesturing for her to knock on a car window. Qi Jing stood neither too close nor too far, his expression blank.
He could read the woman’s lips…
Go on. Once you’re in the car, don’t get out. Don’t come running back to me.
Hurry up!
In that instant, the scene seemed to slow to a crawl for Qi Jing. He watched the red marks on the girl’s arm from the blows, watched her shrink back as she turned her head, watched her take one reluctant step after another toward the car…
The sun overhead beat down mercilessly, leaving him dizzy.
His lips felt parched. So thirsty. So thirsty.
His thoughts turned to mush…
Until someone grabbed him from behind, an arm wrapping around his waist. A shadow blocked the sunlight, and a hand wiped his forehead before tilting his face up.
The scent of wood filled the air.
“How’d you wander off here all alone?”
Bo Chengyan scooped him up effortlessly, his expression darkening. The weather had swung wildly—overcast in the morning, now pushing over ninety degrees Fahrenheit in the afternoon.
Qi Jing felt foggy and disoriented, his breath coming out hot from his mouth. He just kept trying to twist his head away, pushing weakly at the man’s shoulder.
“What’s wrong?”
Bo Chengyan halted, following Qi Jing’s gaze. Over there, a mother and daughter were walking back, one chattering nonstop, the other hanging her head in silence.
What was so interesting about that?
The young man’s eyes grew misty, like a weight had lifted from his chest. He stopped pushing.
Qi Jing lowered his eyelids and slowly nestled against the man’s shoulder, his fingers curling tight.
His breathing remained unsteady.
Like he’d been badly startled.
~~~
Twenty minutes earlier—
Jiang Xiuyuan had gone to the supply hub but unexpectedly ran into Chen Zhuo. The other man hadn’t noticed him and seemed to be on the phone.
“But have you gathered enough evidence? The country’s laws on child trafficking aren’t fully developed yet—no ‘same punishment for buyer and seller.’ You won’t get much time just on extortion charges.”
Chen Zhuo was dressed casually, as usual, in a relaxed suit. He only wore formal attire for official events.
When he wasn’t talking, he actually looked pretty intimidating.
Sometimes Jiang Xiuyuan couldn’t tell which version was real. There was fear, sure, but also this illusion that the guy might be approachable.
“I can make it happen.”
“But are you sure you don’t want to tell the kid? What if he finds out?”
The man’s tone was even, almost amused, utterly composed.
They were cut from the same cloth, really—just different personalities.
“You’d better deal with your cousin soon…”
“Macau’s flipped upside down, and here you are playing house with your little Baby, doing good deeds anonymously, haha…”
Something must have been said on the other end.
Chen Zhuo frowned. “I’m different.”
People loved watching others squirm but hated having their own flaws pointed out.
Chen Zhuo hung up in a foul mood, not even bothering to school his expression—right as he turned and spotted the pale-faced young man.
“…”
“…”
Jiang Xiuyuan took a step back, gripping the corridor railing. This spot was out of the way, a shortcut to the storeroom, so it wasn’t surprising Chen Zhuo had picked it for the call.
He’d overheard the whole thing.
“What’s with the step back?”
Chen Zhuo clearly took offense at the gesture and strode over. Jiang Xiuyuan barely reacted in time—he’d been traumatized in bed.
His vision blurred.
His back hit the wall.
No—no knife.
He didn’t have a knife on him.
“What did I ever do to you?” Chen Zhuo loomed over him, staring down as if all his anger had evaporated.
He was a live-in-the-moment type—always acting on impulse, rarely digging into why.
His parents were pleased with him, but they had no idea their son was gay.
Nor did he plan to marry.
“N-Nothing.”
Jiang Xiuyuan struggled with his knee-jerk reactions. He tilted his head away, refusing to meet the man’s eyes.
A standoff.
Chen Zhuo fumed inwardly. Fine, don’t look then. See if I care.
“You…”
Finally, the young man lifted his gaze.
“Yeah? What do you want to ask?”
Chen Zhuo’s politeness snapped back on.
“Was that call about Qi Jing just now?”
Chen Zhuo’s brow furrowed.
“I’ve heard rumors—Qi Jing was trafficked? Does he know? Have his parents come looking?”
For once, the young man held his gaze, speaking more than usual, his tone even softening.
“Right? That’s it, isn’t it?”
Jiang Xiuyuan was an adult; he could put two and two together. He turned to leave but got yanked back.
Hard.
Chen Zhuo’s face was impassive. “Why tell him?”
“His parents—he deserves to know.”
Jiang Xiuyuan’s lips thinned, a gloomy aura seeping out. “You can’t just use your power to treat people like idiots.”
“Qi Jing, he—”
A deeper voice cut him off.
“Treating me like the villain again, huh?”
“Qi Jing’s so-called biological parents? One’s a gambler, the other’s a deadbeat. You think it’s a good idea for a nineteen-year-old to learn that?”
“Do you want to give him an identity crisis? Send him back to that hellhole of a childhood?”
Jiang Xiuyuan pressed against the wall, his face ashen. His fingers clenched tight.
“I…”
“That’s not what I meant…”
The young man’s body even started trembling. That bed incident had instilled a deep fear—he instinctively wanted to bolt.
But fingers clamped around his neck.
A fragile sound escaped him.
“Don’t tell him.”
“…Okay.”
His voice quavered.
Chen Zhuo brushed a stray lock from the young man’s ear, thinking idly to himself.
If only he weren’t so scared of me.
~~~
Inside the car—
Qi Jing had developed a low fever. He didn’t make a sound even after his temperature was taken, just leaned restlessly against Bo Chengyan’s chest.
“Want some water?”
Bo Chengyan took the electrolyte drink the driver had bought, unscrewed the cap one-handed, and stuck in a straw.
Qi Jing turned his head away, burying his cheek in the crook of the man’s neck, refusing.
The car’s AC was on, keeping things comfortably cool.
Bo Chengyan set the water aside and tried again. “What happened? What did you see?”
The young man in his arms still wouldn’t talk much.
It had been the same two years ago. Right after he had been brought back, Qi Jing hardly spoke a word. The doctor had diagnosed mild emotional withdrawal.
It had taken a long time of careful nurturing before he finally recovered.
Bo Chengyan suspected the mother and daughter pair were to blame. Ten minutes earlier, he had already messaged his contacts in Lin Village to find out what was going on.
He cradled the young man in one arm, lowering his gaze to read the incoming message.
It was a chat log—a lengthy wall of text.
—That’s the orphan and widow from the village. The woman’s husband died, leaving her with a mute daughter. The mother’s Li Qiuping, and the girl’s Lin Xiaohua.
—Li Qiuping’s got heart problems. The government’s aid helped some, but they’re still scraping by. She’s probably worried about her mute daughter and wants to marry her off.
—But she’s picky as hell. Won’t give her to any of the poor guys in the village—only wants rich ones. Spends her days eyeing the cars parked out front of other folks’ places, judging by the make if they’re loaded, then goes around proposing marriage.
—But who in their right mind wants a mute? And the girl’s so young—regular schools won’t even take disabled kids.
—She probably saw those officials show up at the Village Committee and figured it was her chance to offload her daughter. Hey, honestly, who wants a mute?
There was a pause of several minutes.
—Or maybe it’s because Li Qiuping had that bad illness last year and thinks she hasn’t got long. Wants to get her daughter settled before she goes. Hard to say.
—Eh.
The last message was just a casual interjection.
That was it.
Bo Chengyan’s brow furrowed slightly as the pieces fell into place. He set his phone aside and picked up the water bottle again.
The young man in his arms still wouldn’t lift his head.
Bo Chengyan gently tilted Qi Jing’s chin upward. His lips were swollen from where he had bitten them while hiding his face.
Slender fingers pressed against his jaw, prying it open with firm insistence.
“Mm…”
It was a soft whimper, like that of a small, frightened animal.
Bo Chengyan said nothing. He simply slipped the straw beneath Qi Jing’s tongue and gently massaged the nape of his neck.
“It’s okay,” he murmured.
“I’ll handle it.”
The sweet water slid down his throat, and Qi Jing began to drink—slowly at first, though only for a few seconds.
Then he went limp again, pushing weakly away.
Stubbornly, he buried his face in the crook of Bo Chengyan’s neck.
As if seeking some desperately needed sense of safety there.
The man’s brows drew together faintly, a flicker of regret stirring in his heart. He could have reshaped Qi Jing’s entire worldview, molding it so he couldn’t tell right from wrong in this harsh society.
That might have softened the story of how they met, made it seem less sordid.
But no. He couldn’t.
His strong, knuckled hand closed lightly around the young man’s slender wrist, not daring to squeeze even a little.
