19

After dinner, the three of them settled into the lounge area of the front hall with their juices, and He Wei proposed they let their food settle for ten minutes before heading to the entertainment wing for a few rounds of billiards and then home.

'Capital City is really boring.' He Wei curled into the sofa, lazy. 'Since I came back, I haven't laughed in ages.'

'Then get lost,' Gu Yunchi said.

'Won't.' He Wei looked at his mobile phone screen, squinted, smiled. 'Chi Jiahán, Class Nine of the second year. The vice mayor's younger son. Very low-key — a smart one.'

While he spoke, Lu Heyang's gaze drifted to the hotel lobby in the distance. An Alpha in a black baseball cap was walking in, the brim pulled low. He made for the front desk; after a brief consultation, a server led him toward the elevators.

Lu Heyang took a sip of juice, lifted his wrist to check the time: eight twenty-five.

'Chi Jiahán?' Gu Yunchi thought for a moment. 'I hear he doesn't get along with his family.'

He Wei snapped a clean finger. 'That's perfect. My job is to save every beautiful, helpless Omega in the world.'

When Xu Ze pushed the door open it was exactly eight-thirty. Seven or eight Alphas filled the private room, each with an Omega at his side — everyone except Tang Feiyi.

'Boss Tang's tastes keep getting pickier.' Someone started in the moment he saw Xu Ze. 'A seventeen-year-old S-Class Alpha — that's not something just anyone can land.'

Tang Feiyi leaned back in his chair and exhaled a mouthful of smoke, then tilted his chin toward the empty seat beside him. Xu Ze followed the gesture, walked over, and sat down.

'Hungry for anything? I'll add a dish for you.' Tang Feiyi draped one hand over the back of Xu Ze's chair and leaned in toward him.

'Already ate.'

Tang Feiyi studied his profile, smiled with a kind of amusement. 'Then drink.'

A server drew a bottle of whiskey from the rolling cabinet nearby, uncorked it, and filled a glass for Xu Ze to the brim.

'Three penalty glasses first.' An Alpha offered, with a knowing look. 'Boss Tang's been waiting for you this whole time.'

It had been Tang Feiyi who told him on the phone to come at eight-thirty, but Xu Ze said nothing — he gripped the glass, tipped his head back, and drank it dry.

The golden liquid spilled from the corner of his lips, slid down his throat; the shadow of the cap brim hid the upper half of Xu Ze's face, leaving only a sharp, lovely chin. One glass, two, three — Xu Ze set it down and wiped his mouth.

'Such a good boy.' Tang Feiyi's hand settled on Xu Ze's back, slid lower, and came to rest at the small of his waist.

Xu Ze held himself rigid. Not a sound.

The Alphas went on talking. Tang Feiyi kept his half-embrace of Xu Ze, his other hand on the bottle; every time a toast came round, he topped Xu Ze's glass and let Xu Ze drink it down in his place.

Over the next hour or so, Xu Ze lost count of how much he'd drunk — only that it had been glass after glass. Even for an S-Class Alpha with a natural head for liquor, the dizziness was unavoidable; he understood, with a cold clarity, that he had reached his limit and could not take another drop.

The dinner finally wound down. The Alphas moved toward the lounge inside to play cards — cards, in name only; the real game was gambling, a single hand worth tens or hundreds of thousands, to them no more than a card flipped, a blink of an eye.

'I'm heading back,' Xu Ze said.

'What time is it even?' Tang Feiyi was in his element and had no intention of letting him go. 'We'll talk later. I'll get you a room — guarantee you'll sleep well.'

'No need. I'm leaving.' Xu Ze stood.

Tang Feiyi was still smiling, but his voice had cooled by several degrees. 'The guests are still sitting here, and you want to leave — that's a bit of a mood-killer, isn't it.'

The table went quiet. Xu Ze stood where he was, head swimming, thoughts impossible to gather — all he wanted was to be out of this private room as fast as he could.

An Alpha broke the silence. 'I hear you box? One of my guys used to train — how about the two of you have a go? If you win, Boss Tang lets you walk. How about it?'

Tang Feiyi seemed pleased with the suggestion. He lit a cigarette, watched Xu Ze through the smoke, and said, slowly: 'And if you lose?'

Another Alpha jumped in at once. 'If you lose, you obediently keep Boss Tang company for the night.'

The rest laughed, ill-intentioned. Tang Feiyi crossed one leg over the other and, with the toe of his shoe, gave Xu Ze's calf a playful tap. 'Your call.'

Xu Ze looked at the glass in front of him. A few seconds passed. Then: 'Fine.'

The private room door opened almost at once, and a tall bodyguard stepped in. 'Boss.'

'Have a match with him.' The Alpha pointed at Xu Ze. 'Win, there's a bonus. Lose — your left thumb stays behind.'

Xu Ze flinched. Looked at the Alpha.

The Alpha's face was easy, unhurried. 'I hear your daughter's in the hospital lately? You wouldn't want her, the moment she's discharged, to find her father missing a finger.'

The bodyguard gave a small nod. 'Understood.'

The tea table was dragged aside, clearing a space. Xu Ze and the bodyguard stood face to face; before Xu Ze had time to see clearly, the other had already thrown a punch. Xu Ze's dodge came half a second late — he felt the fist skim past his ear, raising a clean whistle of displaced air.

He straightened and threw a counter, which the other slipped. In that single exchange, both men had taken each other's measure: their levels were evenly matched. The difference was the alcohol — it dulled Xu Ze's reactions, his balance, his accuracy, his coordination, all of it a shade weaker than his usual.

Within ten seconds, Xu Ze took a hit to the corner of his mouth. They weren't wearing gloves; the bodyguard's protruding knuckle smashed straight into his face. The sharp pain made his temple jump; he let out a muffled groan and turned his head, staggered a few steps, nearly went down.

'Looks like Boss Tang gets to carry the beauty home tonight.' — somewhere in the haze, Xu Ze heard someone laugh and say it.

Xu Ze swallowed the blood in his mouth, swayed upright, and snapped out a feinted straight. As the bodyguard tilted his head to dodge, Xu Ze followed with a right hook that landed on his chin.

He didn't know what to do. He hadn't figured it out yet.

What a thumb means to a man — Xu Ze couldn't tell whether that Alpha had been joking or not.

In his daze, Xu Ze's jaw took another hit. His head was too far gone, his senses sliding toward numbness; his whole body hit the carpet. Before he could prop himself up, a foot slammed down on his back. Something in his chest cavity burst open — a dry, sand-rubbed-in sting that spread all the way to his stomach. Xu Ze wanted to vomit, but could only open his mouth and gulp air.

Half his face pressed into the carpet; the baseball cap had fallen to one side. His vision blurred, and through it he saw Tang Feiyi slouched in the sofa, wearing that habitual expression — the one that craved stimulation, that enjoyed. Xu Ze knew he was waiting for him to beg, to cry out, to plead.

He could not lose. Xu Ze was breathing in short, ragged pulls; he suspected his spine, or one of his ribs, had been cracked under that foot — the pain was so sharp he could barely draw breath, his heart labouring against his chest. He clenched his teeth, reached out, and grabbed the bodyguard's other leg at the ankle, hauling it forward. He felt he had spent every ounce of strength he had; the bodyguard's centre of gravity gave way and he went down. Xu Ze bore the pain, rolled over, and drove an elbow into his chest.

The Alphas watched them over their drinks, as if observing two beasts — struggling, biting, tearing at each other.

Just as Xu Ze was about to swing at the bodyguard's face again, the private room door was shoved open and the lobby manager walked in with security. Not surprised, not scolding — the manager's tone was perfectly composed, perfectly polite. 'Apologies. Fighting is not permitted in the hotel.'

He gave Tang Feiyi a courteous bow. 'Mr. Tang. I hope you'll understand.'

'Fighting?' Tang Feiyi swirled his glass, didn't look at him. 'Just a friendly match for fun. How did it become fighting?'

'A match in a hotel private room — if someone dies, whose responsibility is that?'

At the sound of Gu Yunchi's voice, Xu Ze started; then, at once, he reached for his cap, pulled it on, pressed the brim low, and stood.

'Oh — Young Master Gu is here?' Tang Feiyi finally lifted his eyelids. 'I heard Chairman Gu also came to Yunwan today? My memory's poor — I forgot to pay my respects to the old gentleman.'

'My grandfather has no time to receive greetings from people who don't matter.' Gu Yunchi answered, level. He looked at Xu Ze, standing with lowered head in the centre of the room. 'I'm taking these two to ask a few questions. Any objections, Mr. Tang?'

What was there to ask? What needed asking? Everyone present understood it was a clumsy pretext — but they understood, too, that for Gu Yunchi to bother with anything as crude as a 'pretext' was already a courtesy.

Tang Feiyi was about to speak when He Wei cut in. 'If there are no objections, you two — out.'

'Of course.' Tang Feiyi gave a light, scoffing laugh.

Gu Yunchi gave an indifferent nod. 'Mr. Tang's tab tonight — no need to settle it. My treat.'

Xu Ze walked out of the private room with his head lowered. As he brushed past, he heard He Wei murmur, low: 'Run. It's fine.'

After a brief, stunned pause, Xu Ze moved — silently, quickly — toward the elevator. He glanced back. No one was following.

Outside the hotel, the air was slightly warmer; the endless wash of traffic filled his ears. His back was still screaming; Xu Ze hunched forward, unable to straighten. He let out a long breath, licked the corner of his mouth — the wound was a little salty, his tongue thick with the taste of blood.

A supercar pulled up at the kerb two metres ahead. Xu Ze looked up — there were no more than three of this model in Capital City, and He Wei owned one of them.

The door lifted slowly. Xu Ze walked forward, step by step, until he was level with the driver's seat, and looked in.

The person sitting inside was not He Wei.

Lu Heyang had one hand resting on the steering wheel. The pale blue ambient light inside the car gave his face a mechanical, cold sheen. He tilted his head, looking at Xu Ze, and smiled — faintly. 'Need a ride?'