Chapter 37

Friday after school. Lu Heyang packs his bag, glances out the window, and spots He Wei standing in the corridor of the teaching building opposite, chatting up Chi Jiahán while playing the wide-eyed innocent.

Xiao Feng had messaged at noon to tell Lu Heyang that No. 17 wasn't on the fight card tonight. The driver was already waiting at the school gate; Lu Chengyu was coming home today, and Lu Heyang was expected back for dinner.

"The Chairman just got off the plane — should be here in about an hour and a half," the driver says, easing the car along.

"All right."

Lu Heyang leans back in his seat and turns his head to look out the window. The non-motorised lane outside the Preparatory Academy's gate is always empty, save for the occasional heavy motorcycle tearing past.

The setting sun slants in. Lu Heyang straightens a little and narrows his eyes against the glare.

Still that out-of-place old bicycle. The wind lifts the Alpha's hair and uniform; in the falling light he looks like a piece of amber.

Every time Lu Heyang looks at Xu Ze, the world seems to go quiet — a strange feeling. The car is about to pass him, but Lu Heyang suddenly reaches out, takes the side of Xu Ze's face between thumb and forefinger, and gives it a gentle pinch.

Lu Qingmo hasn't come back this time. Lu Heyang does his homework in his room, and when the time is about right, he goes downstairs to the dining room and takes his seat to wait for Lu Chengyu.

Ten minutes or so later, the car pulls into the garden. Lu Chengyu steps out, followed by a Beta secretary with a briefcase in hand.

"Father." Lu Heyang stands.

Lu Chengyu glances at Lu Heyang, undoes his suit button, and sits down. "Eat."

Another dinner without conversation. Lu Chengyu sets down his cutlery after a few bites and rises to go to his study. Once Lu Chengyu has left, the Beta secretary comes into the dining room and sets a document envelope on the table.

He doesn't say what's inside, but Lu Heyang can guess. "Has my father seen it?"

"No," the secretary replies. "The Chairman hasn't had time to look at it yet."

"All right. Thank you."

In the evening, Lu Chengyu goes out to a banquet. Lu Heyang, fresh from the shower, stands on the balcony drying his hair and sends Xu Ze a message: Did you fight today?

It's the first time he's ever messaged Xu Ze. Two minutes later, a reply comes in: No, no match today. Did you go to Chengxi?

That means Xu Ze isn't at Chengxi right now — he should be at home. Lu Heyang replies: Something came up, didn't go today, so I don't know if you're lying to me.

Xu Ze's reply comes quickly this time: Not lying to you. I'm at home.

Lu Heyang: Even if you are lying, it's fine — as long as you weren't hurt in a match.

Xu Ze: Really didn't fight, and I'm not hurt.

Lu Heyang: How do I know that's true?

A good while passes before a reply comes — a picture.

Xu Ze sits in the desk chair, and from an overhead angle the photo shows him faithfully — from mouth to lower abdomen — proving to Lu Heyang that he isn't hurt. Warm yellow light falls across his bare upper body; even through the screen one can feel the warmth of his collarbones, his chest, the flat of his abdomen. The phone's resolution isn't great, but aside from some old scars there are clearly no new injuries. The bruises on Xu Ze's neck have mostly faded; only the faint imprint of teeth remains, and that too should be gone in a day or two.

If Lu Heyang had bitten down harder then — broken the skin on Xu Ze's neck — the mark might have lasted a little longer.

Even knowing Xu Ze has not a single improper thought in mind, Lu Heyang still asks him: Why send me a nude photo?

A few seconds later the reply comes: No, that's not what it was.

Then Xu Ze sends again: Really didn't fight, really not hurt.

Lu Heyang can picture Xu Ze's flustered expression as he types. He smiles at the screen and replies: Okay. I believe you.

Xu Ze replies: Thank you.

He stares at those two words for half a minute, then changes Xu Ze's contact name to "Xu Dai."

Then he sits down in his chair and picks up the document envelope from the side table. He opens it. Inside is a thin file — Xu Ze's ID photo, taken in the standard Preparatory Academy intake shot, uniform on, staring into the lens with no expression. Because it's a black-and-white copy, the face looks colder, more sombre than usual.

Seventeen, S-Class Alpha, Year 2 Class 11, residential address... all consistent with what Lu Heyang already knows.

Xu Ze's family situation is simple: his father was a police officer who died in the line of duty ten years ago; his mother was once a stage actress who took her own life six years ago. His only living relative is his maternal grandmother, Ye Yunhua, currently receiving long-term care at a Private Sanatorium for cardiovascular and psychiatric conditions.

The three of them fit on a single page — two of them dead, one a patient. There hardly seems to be any need to dig deeper.

Lu Heyang turns the page. Below are Xu Ze's other social connections: underground bare-knuckle fighter, part-time waiter and odd-jobber at the Underground Club, taken to drinking parties by Tang Feiyi on more than one occasion — the information specific enough to include the date, location, private-room number, and approximate attendees of each.

Xu Ze may not know who those people are, but some of the names are familiar to Lu Heyang — the same sort as Tang Feiyi, in any case. He even spots his brother-in-law Wei Lingzhou's name among them.

Lu Heyang slides the file back into the envelope. The secretary said Lu Chengyu hadn't had time to read the report, and Lu Heyang believes it. It's not that Lu Chengyu is temporarily busy — it's that a Chairman's time and attention are too valuable to be spent on a high-school student. To Lu Chengyu, Xu Ze is simply too insignificant a presence.

So the point of handing him this envelope is only to remind him: be careful what sort of people you keep close, and what sort of people you keep at arm's length.

After all, none of Lu Heyang's previously closer friends ever came with a black-and-white investigative report attached.

Lu Heyang looks up at the night sky. There's nothing much to see — no moon tonight, and the stars aren't bright either.

He picks up his Mobile Phone again and sends Xu Ze a goodnight.

Xu Ze replies almost at once: You too. Goodnight.

The next morning, when Lu Heyang wakes, Lu Chengyu has already left for a meeting. The housekeeper says he came back very late last night, and drank at the banquet, but still rose on time this morning.

Lu Chengyu is a capable ruler. Though many within the League resent his political leanings and methods, almost no one has ever called him incompetent or questioned his ability.

Lu Heyang finishes breakfast, spends two hours on his homework, and shortly after ten drives alone to Luan Mountain.

Passing through the Old Town, Lu Heyang slows the car and glances at the crowded streets. Of course it's not such a coincidence that he'd run into Xu Ze again; he only remembers the last time Xu Ze helped him change a tyre here, back when they were still strangers.

Halfway up the mountain, the bodyguard car trailing a dozen or so metres behind pulls over and stops following. A few minutes further on, Lu Heyang stops outside the gates of a hilltop villa and waits for the system to read his plates; the barrier lifts.

The car finally rolls into the garden. Lu Heyang steps out and calls to the Omega in the sun hat, trimming an olive tree: "Father."

The Omega stops his shears, straightens up, and turns to smile at Lu Heyang. "Coming without warning — why didn't you tell me first?"

He washes his hands in the basin beside him, dries them, lets down the rolled-up sleeves of his shirt, and pours a glass of water for Lu Heyang. Lu Heyang takes it, drinks, and says, "I forgot."

"Come inside."

In the living room, Lin Yumian takes off his hat. Without the brim to shield him, the still-red, swollen bite mark on the gland at the nape of his neck is exposed; he promptly buttons his collar up to cover it.

Lu Heyang, his back to him, is feeding the fish. Lin Yumian asks, "Final exams coming up?"

"Mm."

"S-Class students apply for universities in the first semester of Year 3, in preparation for early admission."

"Mm."

"Is it time to start making decisions?"

Lu Heyang doesn't answer. After a moment he asks, "Did Father come by yesterday?"

"What makes you say that?" Lin Yumian's smile fades a little.

"Every time he's been here, you ask me whether I've made up my mind."

"Is that so?" Lin Yumian sits down on the sofa. "So you see, I told you long ago — this place isn't a safe harbour. It's the eye of the storm."

The fish, having eaten, flutters at the surface; its tail flicks a few drops of water onto the back of Lu Heyang's hand.

"Whatever you decide in the end, I still hope you leave fewer handles for people to grab." Lin Yumian, head bent, shaves a long thin piece of wood and holds it up beside a paintbrush. "Qingmo lost her choices because someone got hold of a handle."

After a pause, he smiles again. "Actually, being caught isn't the end of the world — if you steel yourself, it's the same. Your sister looks as if she likes nothing and cares for nothing, but it's all a front. You're a lot like her; I just don't know if the substance is the same."

"It might be too late." Lu Heyang sets down the fish food and says it suddenly.

Lin Yumian looks up. "What?"

"It's getting late. I should head back."

"Didn't you just arrive? Won't you stay for lunch?"

"I want to go somewhere."

"Off to skydive or paraglide again?" Lin Yumian sands the piece of wood with care. "Well, the ground is dangerous enough — spend more time up in the sky."

Lu Heyang finally smiles. "Then I'll be off."

"Mm. Drive carefully."

The car clears the gate. Lu Heyang pulls over at the roadside and makes a call.

When the line connects, Lu Heyang hears a pen clatter to the floor on the other end. He asks, "Doing homework?"

"Mm." Xu Ze's voice sounds a little strained.

"So you're at home right now?"

"Yes. At home."

"All right. I'll be there in half an hour."

Xu Ze doesn't even have time to be stunned. He asks at once, "Did something happen?"

"No," Lu Heyang says. "I just thought you might want to see me."

The other end of the line goes so quiet that even breathing can't be heard.

Lu Heyang wants to laugh, and he does, but his tone stays perfectly even. "If you don't want me to come, I won't. I won't bother you."

"No," Xu Ze answers at once. Realising his reaction was too obvious, he falls silent for two seconds, then says quietly, "Then drive carefully."

"All right."