“Excuse me, sir. The front desk received a complaint about some strange noises coming from Room 305. I’m hotel security. Could you open the door and let me take a look?”
The door opened. Zhang Xuan took a sharp breath, then walked in with a cheerful smile.
As soon as he stepped inside, Zhang Xuan repeated his excuse.
“Excuse me. The front desk received a complaint about some strange noises coming from Room 305. I’m hotel security. Is there anything you need help with?”
There was no answer this time. Zhang Xuan cautiously made his way down the corridor and into the bedroom at the far end.
So, what did he see next?
Zhang Xuan wondered to himself—and the answer came quickly.
He saw a bug. It walked toward him, then placed a hand with only three fingers on Zhang Xuan’s head.
He vaguely remembered the bug saying something.
“This kid might make a good ammo pack.”
At the very end of his memory, the bug spat ink-black liquid at Zhang Xuan.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Zhang Xuan’s body jerked on the bed. With a terrified scream, he sat bolt upright.
“What’s all the racket? It’s early as hell. Did a ghost sit on your chest or something?”
Then came the rustling sound of someone turning over.
Zhang Xuan stared in bewilderment. The young man immediately looked around.
There was nothing unusual about the place. It was just an ordinary hotel suite.
Except for the person beside him…
Zhang Xuan glared in disgust at Lu Yile, who was snoring peacefully.
“Damn it. I wake up and the person sleeping next to me isn’t even a cute girl—it’s some scruffy-ass dude. Gross.”
The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he got. Zhang Xuan kicked Lu Yile right off the bed.
After a string of incoherent cries of pain, Lu Yile reached up from beside the bed three seconds later and groggily pushed himself upright.
“I… I…”
Zhang Xuan reached out to Lu Yile with an innocent look on his face.
“You toss and turn like crazy. You were mumbling in your sleep, then rolled right onto the floor. I couldn’t even hold you back.”
Lu Yile looked even more confused.
“I fell off by myself?”
Zhang Xuan’s acting was flawless.
“What else? You think I kicked you off?”
Lu Yile burst out laughing.
“Haha, yeah, right. It’s not like you, Zhang Xuan, would’ve kicked me off the bed.”
“Hahaha, exactly! We’re way too close for that…”
Zhang Xuan took the hand Lu Yile reached out to him.
Zhang Xuan’s expression turned grave.
“What are you trying to do?”
Lu Yile’s face turned murderous.
“Teach my son a lesson.”
Curses and the sounds of fists and feet soon filled the room.
Ten minutes later, the two young men lay sprawled across the bed, panting. Zhang Xuan picked up the phone from the bedside table and checked the time.
“It’s six thirty. If we don’t get up now, we’ll be late.”
Zhang Xuan showed Lu Yile the time. Lu Yile pursed his lips.
“You little brat. Your old man will let you off this time. But if you dare disrespect me again, I’ll beat you so badly even your mother won’t recognize you.”
Zhang Xuan snorted. He didn’t feel like trading insults with this old buddy anymore, so he got up and put on the jacket and pants from the bedside table.
As he dressed, he voiced the question on his mind.
“Lu Yile, about last night…”
That nightmare had been far too vivid. Even now, he could remember every detail of what he’d just dreamed.
“What about last night? Hmm, let me think.”
Lu Yile paused while pulling on his pants, then said,
“I remember we came over with that Zhou Heng guy to eat skewers, drink, and have barbecue. After that, um…”
Zhang Xuan watched Lu Yile anxiously.
“Hmm, I think we drank too much and couldn’t get up from the floor. Zhou Heng couldn’t be bothered, so he left us at the hotel and paid for a night. Figured we could sleep it off.”
Zhang Xuan spread his hands and asked, puzzled,
“That’s it?”
Lu Yile rolled his eyes at Zhang Xuan.
“What else? Have our parents come get us? They’d beat us half to death if they saw us reeking of booze and skipping school.”
That wasn’t what Zhang Xuan remembered at all. He carefully prompted Lu Yile.
“Um, I thought we ran into Su Mo, the top student, then went into a room and met a… well, a person-sized bug.”
Lu Yile stared at Zhang Xuan as if he were an idiot.
“Did you get a fever or something? You’re talking nonsense. Su Mo, the top student? A person-sized bug? What does any of that have to do with anything? Heh. What’s next, are you gonna add a hero saving a beauty, and the beauty falling for him?”
Zhang Xuan gave an awkward laugh.
“Maybe I really was overthinking it.”
That was what he said, but Zhang Xuan had already made up his mind. If Lu Yile couldn’t give him the answers he wanted, he’d go ask Zhou Heng instead.
He had to get to the bottom of this.
The two got dressed and washed up. Lu Yile figured he’d grab some bread and a bottle of milk to tide him over. Zhang Xuan suggested they get a proper breakfast at a snack stall near Zhou Heng’s place. Lu Yile had been against it—until Zhang Xuan offered to pay.
That settled it.
When they left the hotel, they saw a crowd of workers in all kinds of uniforms gathered outside. Apparently, there’d been an accident the day before: an explosive had blown open one of the hotel’s floors, and they were now rushing to repair it.
The two young men couldn’t be bothered to find out the details. They hailed a taxi and headed toward Zhou Heng’s place.
Zhou Heng lived in an old house—and not just any old house, but one tucked away in a narrow alley.
When they reached their destination, the two young men got out. One paid the fare while the other called Zhou Heng.
After paying, Zhang Xuan walked over to Lu Yile.
“Well?”
Lu Yile hung up.
“What do you think? That guy Zhou Heng was sleeping in, and I woke him up. Now he’s in a hurry to come break my legs.”
Zhang Xuan chuckled.
Getting woken up and immediately wanting to beat someone up—that was exactly the kind of thing you’d expect from Zhou Heng, a roughneck who liked to let his fists do the talking.
Growing up, Zhang Xuan had always hated—and even been repelled by—men who were all violence, all muscle, and no brains.
But oddly enough, the longer he spent around Zhou Heng, the more he liked this guy who was always looking for an excuse to throw a punch.
Zhang Xuan wasn’t sure exactly why. If he had to name a few reasons, maybe it was because Zhou Heng had once saved him when he was getting beaten up. Or maybe it was because, despite his fierce appearance, Zhou Heng was remarkably straightforward in how he treated people.
Lu Yile nudged Zhang Xuan’s arm.
“Quit spacing out. I need to ask you something. When Zhou Heng comes out, if he really tries to beat me up, you’ve gotta stop him, okay?”
Zhou Heng was coming out?
Zhang Xuan stared at Zhou Heng’s front door. After a clattering sound, it really did open a crack.
Zhang Xuan couldn’t help smiling.
He’d seen Zhou Heng looking sleepy and slow-witted first thing in the morning more than once. It was the only time you could mess with him without worrying he’d hit back.
The door opened, and Zhou Heng came out.
Zhang Xuan approached with a big smile, ready to sling an arm around Zhou Heng’s shoulders and give his old buddy’s face a good teasing pinch.
But the moment he saw Zhou Heng’s face, utter shock and disbelief washed over Zhang Xuan.
If he had to put all that disbelief into a single sentence,
it would be this:
“Zhou Heng, did you go to Korea yesterday?”
Zhou Heng yawned and answered groggily,
“Korea? What would I go there for?”
Zhang Xuan moved closer and studied Zhou Heng’s sleepy face.
How could he put it? Zhang Xuan could swear this was his old buddy Zhou Heng’s face. But—but why did that face, which he remembered as so full of manly grit, practically radiating masculine hormones, now look…
strangely kind of attractive?
Attractive in a feminine way.
Zhou Heng shoved Zhang Xuan out of his way, cracking his knuckles as he headed for Lu Yile.
“You little punk. You’re the one who woke me up, right? Damn it, get over here. I promise I’ll leave you half alive.”
Lu Yile immediately started begging for mercy.
“Come on, Uncle Zhou! Look at the time! If we hadn’t come to wake you, you’d be late. Late, get it? Zhou Heng, you don’t want our homeroom teacher—with her menopause syndrome—lecturing you, do you?”
Zhou Heng didn’t care about Lu Yile’s excuses. He grabbed Lu Yile with one hand and pulled him into a headlock, grinding his knuckles into Lu Yile’s head.
It had to hurt like hell. Lu Yile didn’t even have time to cry out before he yelled at Zhang Xuan, still frozen off to the side.
“Why are you standing there like a freaking door god? Weren’t you gonna help me?”
Zhang Xuan hurried over and grabbed Zhou Heng’s hand. Strangely enough, the moment he made physical contact with Zhou Heng, he caught a faint, sweet scent.
Who knew this scruffy dude Zhou Heng even wore perfume?
