CH 1

Ji Yao didn’t expect that one day he would actually run into Jiang Heng.

The newly opened bar was filled with noise, colorful flashing lights bouncing around non-stop.

The public seating area was filled with the faint sound of falling bottle caps. Ji Yao huddled in a corner of the semi-open seating area, absentmindedly rubbing the cold glass of the wine glass with his fingers.

His gaze fell on a man in a suit and leather shoes not far from where he was – the man had just taken a seat ten minutes ago and had just received a glass of iced whisky from the bartender.

The man was dressed in a dark blue casual suit and wore a clean mechanical watch on his left hand. The lights in the bar refracted off the ice cubes in his glass and shone onto the watch face, leaving behind a sparkling light.

Though the man was facing away from Ji Yao, Ji Yao easily filled in his face in his mind.

Seeing Jiang Heng at that moment, Ji Yao hadn’t expected it himself. After three years, he could still recognize him at a glance with just a side profile.

“What are you looking at?” He Xiangyin, who had circled back from the bar, plopped down beside Ji Yao. He stretched his arm and tapped Ji Yao’s glass with his, casually asking, “Found something interesting?”

“No,” Ji Yao withdrew his gaze and said, “It’s too noisy.”

He Xiangyin didn’t believe his words. He followed the direction Ji Yao had looked earlier and glanced towards the bar counter, spotting Jiang Heng sitting there.

No other reason but in this chaotic environment, Jiang Heng was simply too eye-catching.

He wasn’t alone; there was a young man sitting next to him. He appeared to be in his early thirties, similar in age to Jiang Heng, and their fashion sense was somewhat alike. The man held a brightly colored cocktail in his hand and was engrossed in conversation with Jiang Heng.

Jiang Heng listened with his head slightly tilted to the side, a silver semi-frame pair of glasses perched on his nose. His eyes behind the lenses curved slightly, showing a concentrated expression.

Under the noisy music, it was wishful thinking to try and hear a conversation from several meters away. But He Xiangyin quickly shifted his gaze away, gesturing towards Jiang Heng’s back.

“Do you have a crush on him?” He Xiangyin said, “As a friendly advice, you should give up on him. You can’t handle him.”

“Do you know him?” Ji Yao took a sip of his drink and asked casually.

“Not very well, but I have a friend who was his former schoolmate. I’ve heard a bit about him,” He Xiangyin said, “He’s quite a celebrity at the University. His posts still pop up occasionally on the campus forum.”

Ji Yao twirled his glass in his hand.

Jiang Heng graduated from Shanghai University, he knew that. The circle was small for people with their sexual orientation, and it wasn’t unusual to hear about each other.

But Jiang Heng had left Shanghai after graduating, and it had been about six years since then. It was quite unbelievable that people still knew his “name.”

However, Ji Yao thought again and realized that it wasn’t that strange if it was indeed Jiang Heng.

He was the kind of person who was deep, affectionate and devoted, with an unexplainable wellspring of energy. He could always remember various anniversaries, birthdays, and details about his lovers’ preferences, and he enjoyed creating surprises in the mundane life, like a natural love machine that could be brought out and used as a “template” whenever needed.

He was like a rose that never withered, and like a spring that never ran dry, able to offer love without pause.

So, despite the fact that his moments of deep affection were always short-lived, there were still people who continued to pursue him one after another.

“They say he’s a playboy, he’s caught more fish than I’ve eaten meat,” He Xiangyin lowered his voice, gossiping, “But oddly enough, none of his exes can find fault with him – it’s absurd. You better not get involved with him.”

Ji Yao didn’t respond to this, he just took another sip of his drink and looked away.

In his heart, he thought, “I know about this” – he knew it too well. In fact, he knew so much about Jiang Heng that he could probably host a tea party with all of Jiang Heng’s exes and nobody would understand him better.

He had experienced Jiang Heng’s terrifyingly deep affections and thoughtfulness, making him the person who understood Jiang Heng’s limits the most in this world.

“However, I think if you’re really interested in him, you might as well give it a try,” He Xiangyin leaned in with interest, nudging Ji Yao with his elbow, “Fight fire with fire; who knows, you might be able to provoke a dragon. But it might be a bit tricky in terms of positioning; I heard he’s a top.”

Ji Yao: “…”

He withdrew his hand in silence, placed his glass on the table, and picked up his coat from the back of his chair. Then, he stood up.

“I’m leaving,” Ji Yao said.

“Why? It’s not even halfway through the night,” He Xiangyin complained, “Didn’t we agree to go out hunting for fun tonight?”

“I have an early start tomorrow,” Ji Yao said.

He Xiangyin rolled his eyes, seeing through him,

“I’m serious, i need to do rounds in the morning,” Ji Yao said, unperturbed, and turned to walk into the crowd. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the midst of the noise and colors.

He Xiangyin didn’t manage to catch that slippery fish, he could only watch him slip away.

Jiang Heng at the bar also stood up, slightly inclined his body, and inquired about the restroom’s location from the bartender. Ji Yao walked past Jiang Heng, unaffected, as he was behind him, separated only by a man who had passed by.

At that moment, Jiang Heng had no idea about this one sided “encounter.” He finished his drink, placed the glass upside down on the table, and politely declined the bartender’s offer for another drink.

“I’ll be leaving,” Jiang Heng glanced at his watch and said to the man beside him, “I arranged to play night golf with Director Wang.”

“Is it necessary to rush like this?” Gao Jingyi looked puzzled, “You just finished a case not long ago.”

“I started from scratch, so it’s going to be a bit tough,” Jiang Heng teased, winking at him, “Otherwise, the entire law firm will be starving.”

Gao Jingyi: “…”

Inwardly rolling his eyes, Gao Jingyi thought that this guy really dotes on himself too much, he’s like a wound-up AI, never getting tired.

“No matter how you start from scratch, you don’t have to resort to selling yourself for business,” Gao Jingyi teased, “You’re young, take care not to drop dead suddenly.”

Jiang Heng chuckled and buttoned up his shirt collar, standing up and turning to leave. He casually said, “I want to sell myself; it’s much simpler than handling cases –”

As he spoke, he had already taken a few steps forward, and separated by the deafening music, Gao Jingyi reminded him, “Hey, don’t drive if you feel drunk!”

Without turning back, Jiang Heng waved his hand, indicating that he heard.

Ji Yao’s plans for the night were completely disrupted by the sudden appearance of Jiang Heng, so he decided to head home.

Having only been in Shanghai for a few years, Ji Yao had rented a bachelor apartment near the hospital where he worked. The location was good, and it was suitable for living alone.

He never brought his partners home, so the relatively small bachelor apartment often felt somewhat desolate.

Ji Yao, being slightly OCD, neatly arranged his coat and shoes, then finished his quick wash, and finally plunged headfirst into his bed, placing his phone with the preset alarm under his pillow.

– He wasn’t lying to He Xiangyin, the hospital had been really busy lately, and he indeed had to go back for rounds early in the morning.

Jiang Heng appearing in his line of sight was unexpected, but Ji Yao didn’t want to think too deeply about this unexpected encounter.

His inherently avoidant personality trait emerged, so he didn’t overthink why Jiang Heng, after three years, would inexplicably appear in Shanghai, nor did he ponder the remarkable odds of running into his ex-boyfriend suddenly. Instead, he crudely covered himself with the blanket and decided to use sleep to cope with this unexpected situation.

Unfortunately, Ji Yao didn’t succeed this time.

Because he had a dream.

The tones in the dream were dim and blurry, and a dark, warm light unique to dusk seeped through the sheer curtains. It gave off an inexplicable sense of unreality.

Ji Yao was in a daze, feeling as if his head was filled with a lump of paste, his body sticky and heavy. Something seemed to be taking root and sprouting deep within him, as if it would pierce through his chest in the next second and grow out from within.

He noticed that his wrists were bound with some soft fabric, stretched high above his head, tied to the iron frame of the bed, rendering him unable to move.

The fabric was narrow and thin, already soaked with sweat.

The clear silhouette cast a shadow over his head, followed by a warm body temperature, and a hand gently grasped his wrist from the outside, using an irresistible force to hold onto his wrist.

Ji Yao rubbed his ankle against the bed sheet, creating a slight crease in the soft silk material.

This subtle reaction seemed to be noticed by someone – so the next moment, he was flipped over completely. The previous shadow quickly covered him again from behind, pressing even closer.

Ji Yao felt as if he had been thrown into scalding magma, large beads of sweat dripped down his forehead, wetting his eyelashes, and finally forming a small damp spot on the light gray pillow.

His gaze blurred, unable to see anything clearly. But he knew that was Jiang Heng’s favorite tie.

Gunmetal gray, with a subtle wave-like pattern.

The next moment, a hand came from the side, reaching over to grasp Ji Yao’s ring finger, gently kneading it.

Then, Ji Yao heard Jiang Heng’s muffled laughter near his ear, and he seductively licked his earlobe.

“Ji Yao, let’s spend our lives together,” Jiang Heng said.

Ji Yao trembled all over, suddenly waking up from the dream.