Bai Qinglin walked out from the hazy snow, wearing a black overcoat and rimless glasses. He was tall with long legs, and his aura was so intimidating that people dared not approach. In order to drag Yue Chuan away, he had even specially put on leather gloves.
Zhu Jingru saw him with his first glance. The small garden at the entrance of the bar had a glass skylight, and with the falling snow, the atmosphere was perfect.
As Zhu Jingru sat on the sofa, a human-shaped pendant was attached to his lower leg. Huang Chen had earlier helped Yue Chuan put on his coat, and a scarf was wrapped around half his face, his posture exceptionally exceeding the limits of a human.
Yue Chuan was half kneeling and half lying down, clinging stubbornly to Zhu Jingru, not letting go until Bai Qinglin’s footsteps stopped.
“No one can tear us apart…” This mumbled sentence from Yue Chuan was heard clearly by Bai Qinglin.
Zhu Jingru called out, “Brother Bai.”
“Mm.” Bai Qinglin looked down at Yue Chuan from above, his pupils dark and still like an old well, not giving any extra attention to Zhu Jingru. He bent down directly and pinched the nape of Yue Chuan’s neck with considerable force, swiftly pulling the man halfway up.
Zhu Jingru saw the slightly melted snow on top of Bai Qinglin’s head. A trace of water slid down the bridge of his nose. His bone structure was also well-formed. That familiar scent, a mix of tobacco and a light fragrance, seemed to indicate he had smoked a cigarette before coming.
Yue Chuan was very drunk, but his will to survive was present. He felt as if he was about to be strangled to death, that the stick beating the “mandarin ducks” apart was beating him with the intent to kill. A wave of sorrow washed over him, and he let go and began to wail.
“Hit me instead, please don’t hit my first love—he looks like he couldn’t even truss a chicken…”
Yue Chuan, with the scarf covering half his face, pointed at Zhu Jingru and tried to stand up on his own, but unfortunately, his mouth was gagged as soon as the words left his lips.
Bai Qinglin tightened both ends of the scarf. His face was expressionless and quite calm, yet his hands revealed a ruthless strength. He used the scarf to tie Yue Chuan’s mouth tightly, ensuring the man could still breathe.
Zhu Jingru, who was witnessing this scene from the side, felt as if he had discovered a new continent. His fingertips caressed the sofa. He saw another side of Bai Qinglin that was inadvertently exposed, the innate aggression of a male creature at play, creating a contrast with his cold and indifferent face.
Zhu Jingru didn’t dare to think about it further, because Bai Qinglin, as if sensing something, swept a deep gaze over him, looking him up and down. It was rather hard to withstand. However, his words were just some lukewarm pleasantries.
“Sorry for causing you trouble.”
“It’s alright.” Zhu Jingru’s leg was numb and he couldn’t stand up. “Mr. Yue is quite interesting.”
Bai Qinglin said, “Binge drinking is quite uninteresting.”
Zhu Jingru had also drunk quite a bit earlier. At this moment, he could only obediently act well-behaved.
Bai Qinglin was preparing to leave while dragging the drunk Yue Chuan. Only when he remembered something did he turn his head to look down from his superior height at Zhu Jingru, who was sitting on the sofa. The two of them were quite close. “If you’re sick, drink less.”
Zhu Jingru was so struck by these few words that he saw stars, not even daring to breathe heavily. His mind, heated by the alcohol, was no longer working properly. The air itself seemed to have grown hotter. He was momentarily lost in thought. When he looked up again, Bai Qinglin was already grabbing Yue Chuan’s clothes and turning to leave.
The person was about to walk out of the garden. Zhu Jingru had no reason to continue being shy. If it’s impulsive, then let it be impulsive.
“Brother Bai.”
After calling out to stop him, Zhu Jingru casually plucked a pink rose from the garden and stuffed it into Bai Qinglin’s overcoat pocket. Some thorns pricked his finger pads.
Zhu Jingru did not seem to mind. When he smiled, the corners of his eyes lifted, and he asked directly, “When will you let me out of your blacklist?”
Bai Qinglin was used to Zhu Jingru being cunning in a roundabout way. This time, his sudden verbal frankness and directness, a single straightforward question, rendered him speechless.
“Mr. Yue also added me,” Zhu Jingru continued, his tone flippant as if implying something. “Let’s not talk about feelings for now, can we talk about being friends?”
Bai Qinglin’s refusal was curt and direct. “I don’t lack friends.”
“I do.” Zhu Jingru moved closer to him, gently reaching out his hand only to stroke the rose petals in Bai Qinglin’s pocket. “I’m especially lacking.”
Only in the instant Bai Qinglin turned away did Zhu Jingru hear the reply, “Got it.”
At four in the morning, Yue Chuan woke up. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the ceiling. The room was warm. He had arrived in Nanhai; this should be Old Bai’s home.
Yue Chuan’s head was splitting, and he was not yet fully awake. Suddenly, something moved in the darkness. A low, hoarse voice sounded, “You’re awake?”
A cold sweat broke out on Yue Chuan from fright. He scrambled to sit up. “Who—”
The smell of tobacco could be detected in the pitch-black room. Bai Qinglin clicked open a lighter, his expression faint as he began to smoke another cigarette, sitting bolt upright in a chair by the head of the bed.
“Fuck, you scared me to death…”
Just as Yue Chuan was about to say more, Bai Qinglin interrupted, “Stay away from him.”
“Away from who?”
“Zhu Jingru.” Bai Qinglin stood up and flicked the cigarette ash into a glass ashtray he was holding in his right hand. Then he closed the door, as if he had never been there.
Yue Chuan’s brain short-circuited and he muttered to himself, “Old Bai waited all night just for me to wake up, not caring at all if his brother lived or died, just to specifically warn me to stay away from my tenth first love.”
“…”
Yue Chuan closed his eyes. “A dream, this must be a dream.”
