BL Ch25

The three people outside the door broke into a cold sweat, as if standing on needles, and quickly fled far away, awkwardly exchanging glances. Each of them wished they could turn back time.

Lou Baoguo, calming down and choosing his words carefully, nervously apologized to the person on the phone: “Um… Director Yu… the young master and Bai Zhao are busy with something right now. Can they call you back tomorrow? Alright, alright, don’t worry, I’ll make sure to protect the young master!”

Lu Qing, flustered and shy, asked, “Yu doesn’t seem like the type to be on the bottom… He doesn’t look like it, does he?”

Ji Lin, inexplicably annoyed, snapped, “Why are you asking me? I don’t know either. Just go back to your rooms and sleep. Let them do whatever they want, I’ve never seen anyone so shameless!”

Inside the room, the two “shameless” people were engrossed in an intense battle:

Yu Duqiu was lying on his stomach, one hand supporting his chin, the other tapping away on his phone screen, carefully strategizing his moves.

“Have you been practicing in secret? You’ve improved since last time.”

Bai Zhao, sitting up, leaned over and looked down, his gaze falling right on Yu Duqiu’s loose collar—two prominent collarbones formed a clear dividing line. The triangular area above was deeply sunken, while the firm muscles below were slightly raised, with smooth, elegant lines extending into the shadows of the collar. One could imagine that this person likely had a few thin, hard abdominal muscles and a slim, powerful waist.

The poppy plant, if you know a bit about it, is entirely poisonous from top to bottom despite its beauty.

But when someone is this alluring, who cares if they’re poisonous?

“Yeah, I practiced,” Bai Zhao replied, withdrawing his gaze and moving a pawn forward one square. “But I still lost.”

Yu Duqiu chuckled, moved his knight in an L-shape, and captured the pawn: “I was just giving you some encouragement, and now you want to beat me? You’ve got some ambition.”

Bai Zhao didn’t comment, and after a few more moves, he suddenly said, “There’s one thing I don’t understand.”

Yu Duqiu didn’t look up. “Go ahead.”

“About the forces behind the three groups of people today. In your game, what roles do they play?”

“Isn’t that obvious?” Yu Duqiu tapped the opponent’s piece on the screen. “The killer in the Rain Alley case and the mastermind behind today’s assassins should be the ‘Queen,’ ruthless and unstoppable, killing anyone in their way. The case involving my second uncle and today’s masked men can’t just be pawns—they have some level of initiative. I’d classify them as ‘Rooks.’ Their ability to attack head-on is weak; they should have stayed in the back, but for some reason, they chose to face us directly, disrupting the Queen’s attack strategy. As for Master Dong, he’s just a sacrificial pawn leading the charge.”

“So, where is their King?” Bai Zhao asked. “If they don’t have a King, this isn’t really a chess game—it’s just multiple forces attacking you. They might not even be connected, and all this could just be our speculation. If that’s the case, there’s no need for a strategy; just take them down one by one. You could have had Lou Baoguo and Ji Lin capture one or two today for interrogation. I know they’re capable of that, but you didn’t let them. I don’t understand why.”

Yu Duqiu shook his head. “There could still be a King. As I said before, the King’s moves are the most restricted, so they’ll find ways to make all their available pieces work for them, whether weak or strong, while staying hidden themselves. If we ignore the possibility of a King and just take them down one by one without considering the bigger picture, we’ll inevitably lose. In high-level games, it’s all about having a sense of the bigger picture.”

“Besides, those people were well-equipped and retreated quickly—clearly professionals. Lou Baoguo could have caught one or two, but we might have lost a couple of our own in the process. Handling the aftermath for our employees is a hassle, and we’d have to pay the families a large sum of money—not worth it. I’ve also got the tracker as a lead, which we can use to investigate.”

“And even if we did catch someone, then what? Master Dong can be brought back to the country, but can those foreigners be extradited? Ji Lin doesn’t have the authority to enforce the law here, and international cooperation involves lengthy procedures. He can’t stay here indefinitely to handle the case. Should we hand them over to the U.S. police for interrogation? They don’t understand the complexities behind this case. I’m sure Ji Lin gets this too; otherwise, why would he obediently retreat when I told him to? His desire to catch Mu Hao’s killer is probably even stronger than mine.”

Yu Duqiu talked for a while and grew tired of lying on his stomach, so he flipped over to lie on his back. His silver hair caught the light, shimmering like the surface of a summer lake.

Bai Zhao gently brushed his fingers through the “water” that extended to the edge of his fingertips, careful not to disturb the serene beauty. “We don’t have to call the police. I can do the interrogation and probably get something out of them.”

Yu Duqiu laughed. “How would you do that? Tell me.”

“First, lock them in the basement for a week, giving them only water. If they still don’t talk, then I’d start using force. I know where to hit without breaking bones, but it’d make them wish they were dead.”

“Little white wolf, how are you so experienced at this?” Yu Duqiu raised his arm and slowly slid his fingers over Bai Zhao’s Adam’s apple. “You wouldn’t have… done this kind of thing before, would you?”

Bai Zhao swallowed. “I haven’t, but Bai Zhiming used to do this to me all the time.”

Yu Duqiu’s fingers paused, and he asked with a restrained expression, “Why?”

“Because I didn’t listen.”

“I’m asking why you didn’t call the police.”

“Calling the police didn’t help. They said it was a family matter, that a father disciplining his son was only natural.” Bai Zhao took a deep breath, as if pushing down some unpleasant memories. “Later, I found out that he had tampered with the house phone. Whenever I called the police, the calls were redirected to his friends, and they all conspired to deceive me. By the time I figured it out, the wounds on my body had healed, so I had no evidence. After I became an adult, he never hit me again, and the whole thing just fizzled out.”

“He was destroying your trust in the police and the law, a typical way to groom someone for a life of crime. It’s a good thing you didn’t get brainwashed…” Yu Duqiu said, then looked at him suspiciously and asked uncertainly, “You didn’t get brainwashed, did you?”

Bai Zhao lowered his head, his eyes shadowed in darkness, making it impossible to read his thoughts. “What do you think? Do I look like a bad person?”

Now that the question was out in the open, Yu Duqiu didn’t mind anymore. He lightly patted Bai Zhao’s cheek. “Whether you’re a bad person or not, I don’t know, but you’re definitely not a law-abiding citizen. I was just joking around, but you were seriously thinking about taking the law into your own hands?”

“Are we just going to let them do whatever they want? You can hide in the villa tonight, but aren’t you going out tomorrow? Aren’t you worried they’ll come back?”

“Don’t worry. My mom is definitely more concerned about my safety than you are. I’m her only precious son.” Yu Duqiu squinted against the light. “I’ve already told her about the tracker hidden in the gun. She’s replaced all the originally assigned escorts and is personally selecting a new batch of people to accompany us. She’s chartering a plane to have them fly in from New York overnight. They should arrive by morning. Security will be tightened at all the places we go. If anything else happens, I guess it’s just fate.”

The screen of the phone dimmed as Bai Zhao closed the unfinished game. “Aren’t you worried that I might have betrayed you?”

“I considered that possibility,” Yu Duqiu yawned. “The tracker in the gun might not have been there initially; maybe you slipped it in when I wasn’t paying attention. But you haven’t gained any benefit from me yet, so I doubt you’d kill me off this quickly.”

“So you think I might do so in the future?”

“Who can predict the future? It’d be great if you stayed loyal to me, but I’m not as lucky as Du Shuyan, who, even after falling so low, still has someone like Fei Zheng devotedly by his side. If one day I can’t afford to pay hundreds of thousands a year, even people like Lou Baoguo, Lao Zhou, Fei Hua… or even Uncle Hong, who’s served the Yu family for three generations, would probably leave me. So why wouldn’t you?”

“I don’t need money,” Bai Zhao leaned down, hovering over him, casting a shadow over his face. “Just mend my suit for me.”

With the annoying glare gone, Yu Duqiu squinted lazily. “No mending, only replacing. I prefer new things. I’ll get you a new one tomorrow.”

“I like old things. Mend it for me.”

“Don’t order me around. If you don’t want a new one, forget it. I won’t get anything made for you again. You’ll have to figure it out yourself.”

Bai Zhao was quiet for a moment before asking, “Are you going to sleep?”

Yu Duqiu fully closed his eyes and waved dismissively. “Yeah, you go to sleep too.”

There was a rustling sound as if Bai Zhao got out of bed. After a while, the overhead light clicked off, plunging the room into darkness.

Yu Duqiu frowned in the dark and opened his eyes, intending to get up and turn on the nightlight. But suddenly, a soft, warm yellow light illuminated from the direction of the bedside, revealing a tall figure.

“How did you know I was going to turn on the light?”

Bai Zhao turned his face, half-hidden in the shadows. “That night at the Grand Hyatt, I remember you slept with the lamp on.”

Yu Duqiu lay back down, covered himself with the thin blanket, and comfortably prepared to sleep. “Not bad memory. I’m finding you have quite a few uses—you could be my bodyguard, cook, servant. If you’re willing to double as a bedmate, that’d be perfect.”

Bai Zhao ignored him, walked around the bed, and sat down in the single armchair by the side.

Yu Duqiu asked in confusion, “What are you doing?”

“Keeping watch.”

“…You’re crazy. No need. Go back to your room and sleep.”

“You’re the one who said it’d be better to stay in your room.”

“I was just talking, and you took it seriously?”

“Yes, I take it seriously, young master.” The man’s gaze was intense, unwavering, as if he had been looking at him like this for a long time. “I take every word you say seriously, so please don’t make any promises lightly.”

“You’re overacting, Little White-Eyed Wolf. It’s getting a bit disgusting.” Yu Duqiu shook his head, clicking his tongue. “I’m immune to sweet talk, so save it. Your level is too low. Stay if you want, but I’m going to sleep.”

“Okay.”

Yu Duqiu didn’t try to convince him anymore and fully closed his eyes, adjusting into a comfortable side-sleeping position. He turned on the aroma diffuser, habitually placing his hand under the pillow.

The scent of pinewood slowly filled the air, which should have been relaxing and sleep-inducing, but the bedside lamp seemed a bit too bright, disturbing his rest.

Fifteen minutes later, Yu Duqiu opened his eyes slightly, his gaze drifting towards the man on the armchair.

Bai Zhao’s posture and expression hadn’t changed. Catching his gaze, he said softly, “Go to sleep.”

“…Can you sleep with someone staring at you?”

“Didn’t you fall asleep that night at the Grand Hyatt?” Bai Zhao smiled faintly as if he had achieved some kind of goal, genuinely pleased. The usually inscrutable eyes reflected the light, making them seem unusually bright and innocent. “Why can’t you sleep now with me watching? Is it because you care about me?”

“…You’re really disgusting me now.” Yu Duqiu turned away from him, facing away from the light. With the distractions gone, he emptied his mind and prepared to sleep. “If you love acting, then keep it up. Come guard my room tomorrow night too.”

“Alright, I’m used to it.”

“Used to guarding someone while they sleep?”

“Used to watching you from afar.”

Yu Duqiu: “…Shut up, my ears are about to vomit.”

The more he responded, the more enthusiastic the man became, like an annoying patch of sticky adhesive that wouldn’t let go. Could it be that he really fell in love with him at first sight that night at the Grand Hyatt?

That would be even more disgusting.

To be indulging in romance and sentiment when a gruesome corpse is lying in front of you—what kind of perverse madman does that?