TSIBAMS Chapter 60

Chapter 60

“Ye Xing.” The person outside the door repeated his name.

He couldn’t mistake that voice. Clearly just a teenager, yet possessing a pleasing, magnetic baritone. Appearing at this inappropriate time, it was less alluring and more like salvation.

Ye Xing threw off the covers and rushed to open the door.

Light from the hallway flooded in instantly, greedy and overbearing. The person in front of him was about the same height, backlit, making it hard to see their face for a moment.

His pupils, accustomed to the dark, were somewhat blurred from the sudden change, causing him to pause, his gaze vacant for a moment.

Just then, Qi Guang hugged him tightly, without a word.

This wasn’t the first time Qi Guang had embraced him, and each time felt different. But his scent was unchanged, a fragrance that seemed infused with a tranquilizer, dissipating much of Ye Xing’s unease and anxiety from the whole night.

Qi Guang’s hand covered the back of his head, gently patting, his breath brushing Ye Xing’s nape. A sense of warmth and reassurance spread slowly from that patch of skin throughout his entire body.

If only time could stop.

As if heaven had heard his plea, Qi Guang’s hand that was comforting his head stopped moving. The two of them just hugged like that, unmoving, without speaking, only hearing their breathing gradually becoming steady.

Time seemed to have truly stopped.

Ye Xing moved a little, slowly pulling back to look up, seeing that Qi Guang had his eyes closed.

Asleep?

He then realized that his last phone call with Qi Guang was only last night, and for him to be here now, he must have been up all night.

He couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy.

“Qi Guang?” Ye Xing called out softly.

He started awake as if from a dream, abruptly opening his eyes, “Quick! Let’s go!”

His voice was slightly hoarse, filled with exhaustion.

“You didn’t sleep all night?” Ye Xing asked.

“Let’s go!” Qi Guang grabbed his hand.

“We can’t leave, this hotel belongs to them,” Ye Xing didn’t move.

“Them?” Qi Guang looked at him, brows furrowed.

Just as the words were spoken, the burly man from last night… oh no, the bodyguard, appeared at the door.

Presumably, he was staying in the room next door, hearing the commotion, and had come over. He hadn’t even had time to put on clothes; his upper body was only covered by a black, tight-fitting tank top. His muscles were huge, making him look even fiercer than yesterday.

Ye Xing was sure, even if Qi Guang could take on three people, his opponent was definitely not this type.

He had only seen this type in the underground fight clubs in movies, fighting like beasts, risking their lives with the end result being a bloody mess, if not death or serious injury. In short, he couldn’t let Qi Guang clash with him.

But Qi Guang showed no fear, his gaze sharp.

He took off his backpack, pulled out an iron rod, threw the bag on the floor, and, tapping the rod against his palm, he moved toward the man, “If you know what’s good for you, step aside!”

The bodyguard stood calmly in place, not speaking. Though, from the time he’d snatched his phone last night until now, he didn’t seem to have ever spoken.

People who don’t talk are usually quick to act. He reached out to grab Qi Guang, who quickly switched the iron rod to his other hand and swung it toward him.

If he wasn’t mistaken, the target was his head.

Ye Xing had seen Qi Guang fight, and had even fought him personally, more than once. He always thought Qi Guang was measured when he fought, either focusing on defense or using conservative attacks, never hurting himself or exhausting his strength.

His strong point was that even with everything under his control, he could make his opponent lose convincingly.

But today was different, the measured Qi Guang wouldn’t be so stupid as to use a rod to strike someone’s head. Ye Xing was a bit scared Qi Guang would lose control, and was about to pounce to grab him, but the bodyguard beat him to it.

The bodyguard grabbed the rod from Qi Guang’s hand and with a forceful tug, tossed it to the ground with a loud clang.

Qi Guang extended his hand, separating Ye Xing from the bodyguard, pulling him behind him. Then he kicked the bodyguard, with precise aim, squarely in the stomach, causing him to stumble several steps back.

This was a good opportunity to strike. Qi Guang steadied himself, clenched his fist and lunged forward.

But suddenly, he felt his waist being grabbed, and he was quickly dragged into the room.

As the door slammed shut, the room was plunged into darkness again. Qi Guang turned his head, looking puzzled, “What are you doing?!”

The person outside didn’t try to come in, but there were more footsteps, probably staff coming to investigate.

Ye Xing released him, put the security chain on the door, backed up against the door, widened his eyes and glared at him, “You’re asking me? Why do you have an iron rod in your bag?”

“They dare to snatch people in broad daylight, do you think an iron rod can pose a threat to them?” Qi Guang said.

“If it doesn’t pose a threat, does that mean it’s okay to cause a death?!” Ye Xing’s breathing was heavy in the darkness, his voice fluctuating, clearly angry, “Can you please use your brain when you go out? What would have been the consequences of that hit? It’s only because that person is a professional bodyguard, otherwise he’d be lying there already! Was that necessary? Then we can wait for the 110 and 120 to arrive together!”

Although he knew Ye Xing had a temper, Qi Guang had never seen him this angry. Even during their most intense fight at the riverbank, Ye Xing hadn’t been this furious.

Qi Guang seemed used to yielding to him, didn’t respond, and reached out to flick the light switch, with a click, but the light didn’t come on.

Ye Xing regretted it a little, seeing him not argue back.

How could he have been so harsh to him?

“Don’t be so impulsive in the future,” Ye Xing’s voice softened. He never thought these words would come out of his mouth, especially to Qi Guang. After speaking, he lowered himself to feel around on the floor, and after fumbling for a while, he finally found the room card he had thrown earlier, picked it up and inserted it into the slot.

The room lights immediately lit up, from the hallway to the bathroom, from the overhead lights to the desk lamp, and even the TV turned on.

Qi Guang, mixing with the sound of the TV, responded softly, “Mm.”

With the lights on, he could finally see what the room looked like. He had to admit, the slick-haired man treated Ye Xing well. It was a deluxe king room, with all the amenities, and seemed clean. If he had been thrown into a 30 yuan-a-night guesthouse, his misery would probably have doubled.

Qi Guang picked up the backpack from the floor, patted it, and threw it onto the sofa.

Ye Xing, watching his back, suddenly felt a pang of discomfort. He hated and feared this city so much, yet now he was definitely here.

And he had been scolding him just a few seconds ago.

He really wanted to ruffle his hair, and pinch his cheeks, apologize and promise never to lose his temper again.

But reason told Ye Xing that those actions might scare him out the door. He could only clear his throat and ask, “How did you know I was here?”

“Your phone was off, I asked Shuai Xiaoyun, and she called your roommate, and that’s how I found out you were taken away,” There were two bottles of mineral water on the table. Qi Guang took one, and unscrewed the cap, “Shuai Xiaoyun had to go home tonight, so I had your roommate follow you.”

“Then how did you get here?” Ye Xing asked.

Qi Guang handed him the opened bottle of water, “You were taken away, how do you think I got here!”

As if that was the answer he was looking for, Ye Xing was somewhat gleeful.

But it wasn’t enough, he wanted more than this answer. Clearly, Qi Guang’s kindness to him went beyond the scope of normal friends, yet he still refused to say more.

Was it reluctance or was he just not aware of it?

Following his glee, he felt somewhat disheartened. He accepted the water and asked, “What about my roommate?”

“He was downstairs all night, he probably hasn’t slept, I told him to go home first, at least that way there’d be someone outside to respond if anything happened,” Qi Guang opened another bottle of water, raised it to his mouth and started drinking. It must have been that he hadn’t had a drink since leaving 1984, he rarely looked this thirsty.

“You suddenly seem to have a lot of sense now,” Ye Xing said, “Did you learn that from Brother Xu?”

Qi Guang put down the bottle with only a third of the water left. Before he had a chance to reply, he suddenly let out a yawn. Ye Xing, looking at him, could clearly see the red veins in his eyes.

“You didn’t sleep all night either, did you?” Ye Xing turned his head away, unable to look at him any longer.

“Mm.” Qi Guang responded.

“Go lie down,” Ye Xing pushed him toward the bed, and he went along with it. As soon as he touched the edge of the bed, he simply collapsed onto it. Ye Xing couldn’t help but laugh at his exhausted state, “Oh, now you’re not taking off your clothes, Mr. Clean Freak.”

“This hotel’s bedding isn’t any cleaner than my clothes,” Qi Guang’s voice muffled from under the covers, sounding like a buzz.

Ye Xing straightened his body, then turned off the TV and all the lights, “Really not going to take them off?”

“I’ll just get some sleep, take a shower when I wake up,” Qi Guang closed his eyes.

“Alright,” Ye Xing laid down next to him.

It was amazing, although it was the same bed, the feeling of lying on it was completely different from before. The feeling of being on a deserted island and in deep darkness was gone, replaced by boundless peace.

It must be after six o’clock.

The sun must be coming up soon.

Neither of them spoke again. Although Ye Xing hadn’t slept all night either, he wasn’t very sleepy, and opened his eyes in the darkness. His mind was blank, all the jumbled thoughts from before had disappeared, like a broken dream. Trying to connect them again was futile.

Well, temporarily forgetting was a blessing. When life wanted to rape you, you couldn’t resist so you had to learn to enjoy it. Heaven sending Qi Guang over at this time must mean the same thing.

Just when he thought Qi Guang had fallen asleep, he heard his faint voice again, “So who are they?”

Was he sleep-talking?

Ye Xing turned his head to look at him. Once his eyes had adjusted to the darkness it wasn’t that hard to see, he could clearly see Qi Guang with his eyes closed, his thick eyelashes falling down, his straight nose pointing downwards, its curve, which he’d once touched and knew well, and then down to his lips, the upper lip slightly upturned.

He’d touched them here too, and more than just once…

His previously steady breathing became restless once more.

If the last time he kissed him could be classified as being drunk, then how should this sudden feeling be explained?

He’d probably be pushed away.

Just then, Qi Guang’s lips suddenly moved, “It’s okay if you don’t want to say, I’ve pretty much guessed already.”

Not sleep-talking.

Ye Xing swallowed, and laid back down again, “Mm, sleep.”