"How did you know I was here?"
He Yu poured a glass of red wine for himself. After pouring another for Xie Qingcheng, he gestured to the woman beside him to pass the drink over.
Xie Qingcheng didn't take it.
He Yu interlaced his fingers and looked at him calmly. After a moment, he said, "Doctor Xie, if you really want to have a proper conversation with me, it would be best if you finish this glass of wine."
Suppressing a myriad of complicated emotions, Xie Qingcheng looked down at him from where he stood and tried his hardest to keep his cool. "He Yu, it's time for you to go."
"Don't say that—people might think we have some sort of special relationship." He Yu smiled. The alluring woman beside him lit another cigarette; surprisingly, he accepted it this time. As he stared unblinkingly at Xie Qingcheng with his almond eyes, his lips parted to take the cigarette. He took a slow, deep drag, then gracefully and unhurriedly breathed it out, dispersing a cloud of gray smoke.
He Yu was a social smoker. When he was networking, he would sometimes accept a cigarette with a shallow smile to blend in. But he didn't enjoy smoking, and he never touched them in private. Before now, Xie Qingcheng had no idea that He Yu, as someone who abhorred smoking, could hold a cigarette in this effortless, even well-practiced manner.
"Give Doctor Xie a cigarette too."
The woman lit another cigarette as directed and held it before Xie Qingcheng.
Xie Qingcheng didn't take it. "I don't smoke."
He Yu laughed, pressing the hand holding his cigarette against his forehead. "My god… Doctor Xie, you are really a complete hypocrite, aren't you. How did I never realize?"
"There are many things you don't know," said Xie Qingcheng. "If you leave with me now, you can ask me whatever you want. As long as I can answer, I'll tell you everything."
He Yu, who was lazily reclining against the sofa, sat up at Xie Qingcheng's words. Straightening up, he propped his elbow on the back of the sofa, then nodded with a sigh.
"That's right. There are many things I don't know." He raised his puppy-like almond eyes—though right now, the look in those eyes was eerily cold, more reminiscent of a wolf.
"For example…" Xie Qingcheng prompted.
"For example, the reason why you suddenly refused to keep working at the hospital back then, or why you suddenly began avoiding me as if I were some vicious snake or scorpion…"
He Yu paused. He didn't plan to mention Xie Xue or the contract to Xie Qingcheng yet. He'd already said enough. What was the point of adding more and further highlighting his own idiocy?
"Xie Qingcheng—" He Yu's pupils drifted upward as he glanced coldly at that man, pausing between every word he ground out. "I didn't know about any of this back then."
Xie Qingcheng closed his eyes. "Is that why you abandoned yourself to this den of iniquity?"
The girls of this den of iniquity lapsed into silence.
He Yu's smile widened, menacingly revealing the canines that he usually kept hidden. With this subtle change, his normally gentle features became rather sinister.
"First of all, Doctor Xie, this is an above-board establishment which doesn't deal in sex, gambling, or drugs. The girls who work here are beautiful and attentive in their service, but that should be of no consequence to you. If I spend a hundred thousand yuan on a bottle of wine, I'd hardly expect to be served by a bunch of hideous trolls. Secondly, Xie Qingcheng, may I ask why you always hold yourself in such high regard?"
Xie Qingcheng was silent.
"Just who do you think you are? Don't tell me you think that no matter where I go or what I do, it's all because of you?" He Yu's smile disappeared, leaving behind only storm clouds in its wake. "Professor Xie, I know that older people like to put on airs. Plus, you're quite a successful professor, so there are always plenty of students chasing after you and fawning over you. You feel like you're on top of the world, right? It makes sense that you'd get used to being treated like a big shot wherever you go. I get why a middle-aged person like you might have that kind of problem. But just so we're clear, I only do things when I feel like it."
He Yu tapped away his cigarette ash and leaned back, resting his other arm against the back of the sofa. "It has absolutely nothing to do with you."
Only then did Xie Qingcheng notice He Yu's bloodshot eyes and his sickly, discolored lips. He Yu was in an even worse state now than during the severe flare-ups he'd had in the past. Xie Qingcheng's heart lurched.
He Yu often had a high fever during his flare-ups, and Xie Qingcheng knew his symptoms better than anyone. He subconsciously reached for He Yu's forehead to check his temperature.
He Yu's hand snapped around Xie Qingcheng's wrist. He didn't appear to be exerting himself, but despite his lack of expression, his fingers tightened with a force that brooked no refusal.
"Mm. If you have something to say, then say it properly. There's no need to get physical," he said, gazing at Xie Qingcheng. "I don't think we've ever been so close that you can touch me however you like."
Xie Qingcheng's arm slackened, and the light in his eyes gradually dimmed.
The two of them stayed deadlocked for a spell before He Yu loosened his hold and Xie Qingcheng lowered his hand.
"He Yu," Xie Qingcheng said eventually. He turned away to avoid He Yu's dark, icy gaze. "Regardless of whether you believe it or not, the things that I said back then… They weren't about you. I wasn't talking about you."
"What things?" He Yu feigned confusion, dipping his head in thought. Then he grinned. "Oh—'I don't think dying for the sake of a patient is worth it, and to be murdered by a lunatic would be such a waste it'd be laughable.' Well said. You have a point. Why would you need to explain any further?"
He looked around and continued mildly, "Don't tell me there's a lunatic among us? Shouldn't those people be shut away, locked up in cages and restrained, treated with electroshock therapy, and force-fed medicine? If it comes to it, it's best to cut open their skulls and slice through their nerves. How can we possibly allow them the freedom to breathe fresh air whenever they please? Don't you agree?"
Xie Qingcheng didn't respond. The private room was filled with too many onlookers, and He Yu's status as a mentally ill patient was a secret that few were privy to. He fell silent for a moment before he raised his peach-blossom eyes and asked, "Can you send these people out?"
"Why?"
"There are some things that I'd like to say to you in private."
He Yu smiled. "I don't think that's necessary. I think we can skip the lecture, Doctor Xie. You have so many students waiting for you to expound on universal truths to them—there's no need to waste your energy on me. It's not like I'm anything special to you, and the same can be said for what you are to me. This is fine. I'd rather not complicate our relationship any further. If that's all, then you can go."
Given Xie Qingcheng's temper, in the past, he definitely would have given He Yu an earful and then forced him to obey his commands. But standing before He Yu now, knowing he was the one at fault, Xie Qingcheng only said, "What can I do to make you go home? Your parents wouldn't want to see you like this."
It would have been better if he hadn't mentioned He Jiwei and Lü Zhishu, because the moment he brought them up, He Yu's mood immediately darkened. He stared at Xie Qingcheng. After everything they'd said, they'd still ended up looping back to his parents.
He thought back to the messages Xie Qingcheng had sent to He Jiwei. Those had been much more genuine than anything he said to He Yu. Perhaps in Xie Qingcheng's mind, only He Jiwei was a person who could stand on equal footing with him.
The day Xie Qingcheng quit his job, He Yu had abandoned his dignity and pathetically tried to use his allowance to keep this man from leaving. It was because he'd believed that if Xie Qingcheng left, Xie Xue would disappear too, and he would once again fall into that inescapably terrifying loneliness.
Back then, he had said to Xie Qingcheng, I have a lot of allowance. I can…
But Xie Qingcheng had interrupted him, launched into a slew of bombastic, pretentious-sounding rhetoric, and told him that first and foremost, his employer was He Jiwei. He said that He Yu couldn't possibly afford to hire him, and that he might as well save his insignificant pocket money and spend it on cakes to make himself happy.
He Yu should have known right then and there that to Xie Qingcheng, he was only ever He Jiwei's son. If not for his father, Xie Qingcheng might not pay him any attention.
He Yu's already grim mood crept even closer to madness at this thought, but his expression remained apathetic.
He carefully examined Xie Qingcheng as he slowly finished the wine in his glass, thinking of He Jiwei, thinking of the broadcasting tower, thinking of Xie Xue, thinking of the sincerity that he had never once received… He hated Xie Qingcheng so much. He wanted to tear him to shreds.
As He Yu poured himself another glass of wine, he realized that the cup in front of Xie Qingcheng was untouched. He grew even angrier, sneering, "Doctor Xie really has no sense of etiquette. What kind of person comes to apologize by bringing up someone's parents to subdue them, and without even deigning to share a drink with them? Are you planning on saving the wine in your glass to raise fish with?"
He grabbed another empty cup, picked an open bottle at random, and filled the glass to the brim.
"Take a seat. Since you're here, you might as well sit down and drink with me for a while. We can talk afterward. Doctor Xie, you don't smoke. Could it be that you also don't drink?"
Xie Qingcheng knew he wouldn't be regaining the dominant position in their relationship today. So he did as He Yu said, wasted no more words, and sat down on the sofa across from him.
"If I drink, will you leave?"
"Is Doctor Xie willing to risk his life to accompany a degenerate like me?"
The private room was deathly silent. As if affected by the tension between the two men, everyone else barely dared to breathe. Amidst this nerve-racking silence, Xie Qingcheng reached over and into that invisible bloody maelstrom. He picked up the wine glass from the low marble table and plunked it down in front of him. Through the swirling liquid, beneath the hazy lights, Xie Qingcheng's features looked as cold and hard as sedimentary rock at the base of an icy pool.
He raised the glass of dry red wine and drained it in a single gulp. Then, he picked up the other glass of liquor that He Yu had poured for him and likewise tossed it back without blinking.
The strong alcohol burned a path down his throat.
He Yu finally smiled. "Excellent. Xie-ge can really hold his drink."
He tilted his head, eyes still fixed on Xie Qingcheng, and said to the young woman beside him, "Pour him another glass."
The lead hostess was silent, but her face blanched. She gathered her courage and leaned down to whisper a few words into He Yu's ear.
He Yu started in surprise, his gaze sweeping over to the bottle of liquor that he had just poured for Xie Qingcheng.
Plum Fragrance 59…?
H-he had accidentally given Xie Qingcheng a glass of aphrodisiac liquor!
He Yu had been planning on using this liquor to help himself let loose, since he was in a bad mood today. But he had accidentally made Xie Qingcheng drink it instead. His eyes shot up to Xie Qingcheng's face, only to meet the man's cold, stern gaze. The liquor's effect had yet to kick in. Xie Qingcheng still had no idea that he had been drugged.
But He Yu knew that Xie Qingcheng wouldn't remain sober for long.
"You might think that it smells very sophisticated at first, but…it's also very cheap and depraved…" The words that He Yu's half-drunk friend had said into his ear resurfaced in his mind.
How could he have made such a stupid mistake? Why hadn't he taken a good look at the bottle when he poured the drink?!
His heart began to pound. Cold sweat dripped down his back. But in the several dozen seconds of silence that followed, He Yu's mood went from shocked to calm, then from calm to crazed. The mistake had already been made, so did that mean he had to rush Xie Qingcheng to the hospital? He could never.
Besides, there was no point in taking Xie Qingcheng to the hospital. The aphrodisiac only provoked desire. It wasn't poison.
He Yu stared fixedly and silently at Xie Qingcheng, dressed impeccably in his neat attire, his appearance stern and self-restrained and his face exceedingly dignified. This unintended accident sparked an idea in He Yu's crazed mind that roared into a flame.
Perhaps…fate had willed this?
This was retribution. This was Xie Qingcheng's retribution! He was reaping what he sowed. Even fate couldn't stand his hypocrisy any longer, so it brought him this coincidence.
Xie Qingcheng was only human, and all humans had desires. When they were consumed by a desire that they couldn't satisfy, they would fall into a wretched state, begging on their knees for gratification.
He Yu stared at Xie Qingcheng in silence. His curiosity was ignited. How magnificent a sight would that be, if Xie Qingcheng were to burn in the flames of this liquor and kneel before him, unable to even talk properly as he drowned in desire and completely lost control of himself?
Xie Qingcheng set down his empty glass. "Is this enough?"
He Yu didn't answer. That idea of seeing Xie Qingcheng succumb to desire was still circling his head, tempting him. But because giving him the first cup of Plum Fragrance 59 had been unintentional, He Yu was still a bit hesitant to proceed.
Xie Qingcheng said, "If this isn't enough, I'll keep drinking with you. I can drink until you're satisfied and willing to leave. As long as you don't lose yourself tonight, as long as you don't make a mess of yourself here."
Startled, He Yu looked up. "Why?"
Xie Qingcheng told him with deliberate emphasis, "Because this was my mistake. And since it was my mistake, you shouldn't be the one paying the price."
In his muddled state, He Yu's heart stuttered violently, just like it had all those years ago when Xie Qingcheng had told him for the first time that the mentally ill ought to be given equal treatment. But then rage overtook him. He was irate with himself. Why, after it had already come to this, would he still be moved by a few paltry words from this person?
This vehement rage only encouraged He Yu's cruelty. His hesitation vanished, and he finally decided to carry out the malicious plot brewing deep within his mind.
He slowly leaned back and splayed back against the sofa. He sighed softly. "Xie-ge… Look, you're trying to placate me again."
This sudden change in address seemed to give Xie Qingcheng some hope. He gazed at He Yu, who had propped a hand against his cheek and was still sighing.
"But, for some reason, I'm still willing to let you placate me," He Yu said.
"He Yu…"
"Xie-ge, tell me, is everything that you're saying to me this time the honest truth?"
Xie Qingcheng looked into his eyes. For some reason, he felt a faint discomfort in his heart. He said, "It is."
He Yu watched him quietly for a long time before his face broke into the expression he used to wear, like that of a fledgling dragon. "You're not lying to me?"
"I'm not lying to you."
"Then let's make a pinky promise."
He Yu slowly leaned forward and offered his finger. He had made a very childish request, as if he had also drunk too much. But the moment Xie Qingcheng extended his own finger, He Yu suddenly opened his hand, reached forward…and coldly caressed Xie Qingcheng's handsome face.
He looked at Xie Qingcheng in amusement, the fledgling dragon's innocence transforming into the sinister gloom of an evil dragon right in front of Xie Qingcheng's eyes.
"How naive of you, Xie Qingcheng. Were you really going to make a pinky promise with me? It's such a pity that this time—I was the one who was lying to you. How could I possibly trust you again so easily? You hurt me so deeply."
The hint of light in Xie Qingcheng's eyes dimmed once again. In the prolonged silence, the youth watched the fire fading from the man's eyes.
"How about this," He Yu said after some thought.
He sat back up, calmly picked up that bottle of Plum Fragrance 59, and signaled for a pretty, clever woman to bring over an empty glass. He personally filled it more than half-full and placed it on Xie Qingcheng's side of the table.
The lead hostess's face paled in fright. She'd assumed that since He Yu knew about this strong liquor, he wouldn't give this man any more. That one glass would be difficult enough to handle—but here He Yu was, pouring Xie Qingcheng yet another nearly full glass.
"The sight of you like this moves me a little," He Yu said mildly. "I can give you another chance. But you have to show me your sincerity."
The first glass had been a mistake. But he was going to coax Xie Qingcheng into downing this second glass of his own volition.
"I don't have many requests. Just drink a few more rounds with me, and when I'm satisfied, I'll leave with you. I won't force you, but if you've truly begun to care about me, you'll be willing to grant me this much." He Yu looked up. "What do you think?"
Xie Qingcheng looked at him in silence. Then, a moment later, he raised the glass that He Yu had poured for him once again.
"As long as you'll go, I'll drink."
He Yu watched as Xie Qingcheng tilted his head back, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. Amidst his own tipsiness burned a densely roiling cloud of resentment.
Drink it. Drink it all.
Once you've drunk enough of this liquor, your retribution will come.
Retribution, He Yu thought once more.
He would be able to see all of Xie Qingcheng's ugly desire, see him lose control in front of these women, painfully ensnared yet unable to satisfy his need.
That was what they called karma, what they called a complete loss of face.
The hostesses in the room barely dared to breathe. They could see that Young Master He was messing with this man on purpose. He had generously poured the Plum Fragrance 59 into a large wine glass, and from the way things were going, he seemed to be planning on having this man drain the entire bottle.
Two women standing near the back of the room trembled in fright, tugging at the hems of each other's miniskirts. One whispered to the other, "What should we do?"
"What else can we do? Stand here and keep them company."
"I'm so worried something will happen. The last time a big shot drank a bit too much, he nearly tormented the mistress he brought with him to death. What if Young Master He makes us help him later…"
"Don't worry, don't worry, w-we can still refuse. We're only here to serve drinks. Everything else is personal business where all parties have to be willing… Even Young Master He can't force us…"
"But…"
Their voices were a bit loud. The lead hostess standing in front overheard them and turned back to give them a warning glare. Afraid to make another sound, the two girls looked down, their hearts pounding in their chests.
The third glass was downed.
A light flush appeared on Xie Qingcheng's face, and his eyes began to lose focus. But he had yet to notice anything wrong with the liquor. He only looked at the young man in front of him.
He reached up and pressed a hand to his forehead. With a drunken and slightly nasal tone, he said, "He Yu, that's enough. Stop this and come home with me."
He Yu poured Xie Qingcheng another full glass of the liquor and pushed it over. In a voice that had become soft and was no longer as icy cold as it was when Xie Qingcheng first arrived, he enticed him, "All right, of course I'll go back with you. You're such a prestigious person. I'll listen to everything you say… Come, Xie-ge, have another glass. After this, the whole bottle will be pretty much gone, so don't waste any of it now."
Xie Qingcheng leaned back against the sofa. Those peach-blossom eyes of his were already bloodshot and a little misty under the influence of the alcohol. His face had also become rather flushed. But he was still neatly dressed, his shirt securely buttoned up, not showing the slightest inclination of breaching decorum.
He downed the fourth glass of liquor.
The bottle was almost empty, yet Xie Qingcheng was still in full control of his faculties and did not take even the slightest glances at the beautiful women surrounding him.
If someone had faked it for long enough, part of their act would become fused to their true self, wasn't that right?
He Yu fell silent. He was a little displeased, a little irritated. He thought that perhaps because Xie Qingcheng had been single for too long, he needed some egging on. He looked up, shooting a glance at the two women standing next to Xie Qingcheng.
The two quick-witted jiejies immediately realized what they needed to do. One of them picked up the glass with a smile, while the other walked around the back of the sofa and sat down coyly, leaning into Xie Qingcheng.
"Hey, handsome…"
"I heard Young Master He call you Xie-ge, so I'll call you that too, all right?" The girl's body bent in a supple arc as she looked up coquettishly and exhaled a fragrant breath into Xie Qingcheng's ear. Her manicured hand drew closer to Xie Qingcheng's broad chest, and she slid her fingertips over the rigidly fastened collar of his ascetic dress shirt. After all, men's collars were designed to be undone by others.
Xie Qingcheng was handsome and brimming with masculinity, so genuine interest bled into the girl's provocative teasing. "Xie-ge, why don't I drink another glass with you…?"
A slap rang through the room as Xie Qingcheng grabbed the woman's slender wrist in a vice grip, making her flinch.
He closed his eyes for a beat, and some lucidity returned to his gaze. He shook her off. "Get off me."
The woman was speechless.
"Get off. Stop acting so shamelessly."
The woman turned pale before flushing red. Finally, she looked awkwardly toward He Yu, unsure how Young Master He would react.
And then she saw He Yu's downright terrifying expression as he stared fixedly at the man sitting across from him. He Yu was leaning back against the sofa, one elbow extending across the back of it and his other hand holding his wine glass. His slender legs were crossed, and his eyes were icy-cold, overflowing with frost. Since his plan had failed, he had finally stopped pretending.
"You…" Xie Qingcheng's head throbbed as a terrible fever flashed through him again and again. "Are you leaving or not…?"
He Yu sighed. "You can't even utter two words of sweet talk without reverting to bossing people around. Xie-ge, you are such a heartless bastard." He paused, and a dark, dangerous smile bloomed at the corners of his mouth. "Mm. I'm willing to go with you now. But at this point, can you even leave?"
Xie Qingcheng's gaze inched up slowly. Even the rims of his eyes seemed to be burning.
He finally realized that something was wrong. The effects of Plum Fragrance 59 had begun to rush madly through his entire body. Xie Qingcheng gasped for air as his body's visibly adverse reaction to the alcohol manifested right before He Yu's eyes. Xie Qingcheng's originally pale skin flushed an unnatural shade of pink, like a spot of rouge frozen within a slab of ice. It was as though the liquor had soaked into his very bones.
"This liquor…"
"It's a little expensive," He Yu crooned. "But it's a good vintage."
"You…!"
"Doctor Xie treated me so well; of course I have to return the favor. Isn't that right?"
Xie Qingcheng jerked to his feet. He never could've imagined that He Yu would go this far. Flames of fury burned directly into his suppressed inner heart as he swept everything off the tea table, shattering the wine glasses and liquor bottles and sending shards across the floor.
He stepped over the tea table and grabbed He Yu by the lapels. "Are you fucking insane?! You… He Yu… You actually…"
"Yes?"
Xie Qingcheng's voice was shaking with fury. No matter how guilty he felt, his eyes still reddened with rage at what this lunatic had done. "You drugged me!"