Feng Ying was woken up early in the morning by the phone in the hotel suite.

At that time, he was still sleeping soundly, another person wrapped in his arms, but the phone in the suite kept ringing. Feng Ying was a little annoyed about being woken up, muttering curses under his breath as he picked up the phone, “Who the hell is calling so early in the—”

“Feng Ying.”

Feng Ying shivered. “…Dad.”

“You’re not responding on WeChat. You’re not answering your phone. What exactly are you doing?” Feng Juntao was furious, knowing full well that his son was probably indulging in whatever pleasures he liked.

“…I’m sleeping, Dad.”

Feng Juntao didn’t want to listen to his prevarications, impatiently saying, “Get up and get ready. You’re going to go golfing with He Jianshan.”

Feng Ying was definitely wide awake now. He immediately sat up, momentarily speechless. It wasn’t until Feng Juntao urged him once more that he came back to his senses, cautiously asking, “I have to go golfing with He Jianshan?”

Feng Juntao huffed, “President He called me early in the morning. He said that he knew you were in Beijing and wanted to invite you to some golf and a meal.”

Without hesitating, Feng Ying blurted out, “I’m not going.”

Feng Juntao was angered into laughter. “Don’t you know anything about etiquette? Huh? I told you to pay him a visit first, but you didn’t listen! Do you think he actually cares about meeting you? He’s just helping your old man save some face! He even called me personally! Can’t you be more sensible?”

He didn’t want to waste any more time on Feng Ying, decisively saying, “Enough. His car will pick you up at 9:30. You should hurry up and get ready.” With that, he hung up the phone.

After hanging up the phone, Feng Ying mulled over the matter at hand. Quite frankly, the timing was rather delicate. He didn’t know whether He Jianshan knew that Lin Hui had been drugged, but Lin Hui only appeared to have had too much to drink, at least on the surface. Still, Feng Juntao had reminded him that, when kicking a dog, one had to consider its owner. It shouldn’t be too big of a deal, even if He Jianshan knew. Compared to an important business partner, a measly lover was clearly of less significance. With this in mind, he calmed down and turned to look at the pale figure in the bed. When he thought about how close he’d gotten to getting what he’d wanted last night, a pang of regret seized his heart. He kicked the person out of the bed and pulled out a wad of cash from his wallet, dismissing the person like he was shooing away a dog.

At 9:35, Feng Ying promptly got in the car arranged by He Jianshan. As he got in the car, he glanced around and found a distinct lack of He Jianshan. Zhao Jianhua noticed this and explained, “Mr. Feng, President He is waiting for you at the Xishan Golf Club.”

“Oh, okay.” Feng Ying recognized Zhao Jianhua as the driver that picked Lin Hui up yesterday. He ran a hand through his hair and said, “By the way, Lin ge had a little too much to drink last night. Is he okay?”

Zhao Jianhua glanced at the rearview mirror and laughed dryly. “Don’t worry, Mr. Feng, I sent Assistant Lin home. He just needs to get some rest.”

Feng Ying raised an eyebrow, feeling much more relaxed. “That’s good, that’s good.”

When Feng Ying arrived, He Jianshan was on the phone. From afar, Feng Ying felt that He Jianshan wasn’t there to play golf, but rather to discuss business. After hanging up the phone, He Jianshan noticed him as well, and the two nodded at each other in acknowledgement. Feng Ying pretended to obediently stand to the side. Shortly after, He Jianshan spoke up, “President Feng seems to enjoy playing golf a lot.”

Feng Juntao did indeed enjoy golf. Within their circles, this was no secret. Everyone knew about it. Seeing how the first topic of conversation was about his father, Feng Ying figured that He Jianshan really was here for business purposes. He smiled and replied, “Yes. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have invested in Song of Solomon.”

He Jianshan gave him a look. “What about you? Do you enjoy playing golf?”

Feng Ying agreed accordingly, “I suppose you could say that. It’s a very relaxing pastime.”

He Jianshan chuckled. “What a coincidence. I just made two new friends. I’ll let them accompany you today.”

Feng Ying was a little unsure of his intentions, but he still nodded. “I’ll have to thank you for the introduction then.”

He Jianshan tilted his head. “Here they come.”

Feng Ying followed his gaze, and his expression immediately changed. It turned out to be A-Pao and Shan Shan!

Before he could recover from the shock, A-Pao and Shan Shan had already made their way over. Both of them looked uneasy, trembling so much they could hardly maintain their grip on the golf clubs in their hands.

Seeing the two of them avoid his gaze, Feng Ying suddenly realized that he hadn’t seen a single staff member since entering the golf course, not even a caddie. All the people he could see were He Jianshan’s. A chill instantly ran down his spine. Still, he forced a smile onto his face. “President He, what is the meaning of this?”

He Jianshan calmly looked at him.

Feng Ying was nervous now. Before He Jianshan could utter a word, he quickly said, “President He, if this is about last night, I can explain! It was just a misunderstanding!”

He’d finally come back to his senses at this moment. He Jianshan definitely knew that he drugged Lin Hui. He was the one at fault in the first place, so He Jianshan probably wouldn’t take it lightly. Still, considering the upcoming cooperation between their companies…

Feng Ying gritted his teeth and finally decided to speak boldly, abandoning the act, “President He, my father’s been working with you for so many years now! Even if I’ve done something wrong, I—”

He Jianshan shook his head and interrupted him, his gaze pitying, “Mr. Feng, you truly haven’t picked up even a fraction of your father’s shrewdness.”

This remark struck Feng Ying like a bolt of lightning, leaving him trembling. How could he have forgotten? If this man had actually cared about Feng Juntao, why would he have called him out like this and even arranged a car to pick him up?

He Jianshan had made up his mind to shed all pretenses.

Feng Ying suddenly looked toward A-Pao and Shan Shan and realized that they were slowly approaching, each with a golf club in hand. Shan Shan trembled as he spoke, “G-ge, w-we’re sorry, we don’t have any choice. P-President He said that o-only one of us would be able to leave on our own two feet today—”

The two had already thought it through on the way here. It was Feng Ying who wanted to drug the guy, and Feng Ying was the person who He Jianshan was after. The worse off he was, the better it would be for them. Therefore, no matter what, they needed to knock him down first.

As soon as these words were spoken, Feng Ying was struck by a golf club, and his face quickly began to swell up. Feng Ying, who’s lived all his life doing as he pleased, had never suffered such humiliation. For a moment, his heart was filled with resentment. He glared at them in a fury. “Wang Yushan, who the hell do you think you—”

Unfortunately, all that awaited him was another merciless strike to the torso.

Immediately following, the sound of striking clubs and chaotic wails began to sound as the three men became entangled in a brawl. He Jianshan, however, did not spare them even a single glance. He took his employees and left.

Back in the car, Zhao Jianhua asked He Jianshan if he was returning to the company or going home, as he usually did. He Jianshan opened WeChat and said, “I think I’m going to head home.” He then reminded him, “Don’t tell Lin Hui about what happened today.”

Zhao Jianhua nodded.

When he’d left that morning, Lin Hui was still asleep. He Jianshan made some congee, set out the necessary medication, and placed it on the bedside table along with a note. While he was on the road, he worried that Lin Hui might not see it, so he sent him a followup message on WeChat. Lin Hui, however, still had not responded. He Jianshan actually regretted leaving that morning. Maybe shouldn’t have been so anxious to deal with Feng Ying and should have just stayed with Lin Hui. However, Zhou Zhi had just called him and said that the test results confirmed the drug used was relatively simple without any additives, which finally gave him some peace of mind.

He Jianshan locked his phone and looked out the window at the trees receding into the distance. It had only been a few hours since he’d parted with Lin Hui, but he was already starting to miss him. He missed the warmth of having him in his arms. He wanted to have breakfast with him and go on walks with him. He even wanted to do nothing at all, just listening to the stories the other told. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He had never realized just how greedy he was for Lin Hui.

Yes, greedy.

Greedy for his love, his desire, and all of his time. He wanted to see him whenever he was free, He even wanted to include him in his personal plans. Stripped of the facade of work, He Jianshan realized for the first time the extent of his greed for Lin Hui. He recalled how Lin Hui had called out “He Jianshan” the previous night. This was practically the most beautiful sound in the world to him. He wasn’t President He. He was He Jianshan. They exchanged kisses, warmth. He Jianshan began to grow impatient. He wanted to see Lin Hui immediately. He wanted to stand before him, hug him, tell him in earnest—

He also wanted to exchange hearts with him.

⁂

“Hot damn.”

This was the first thing Luo Ting said after listening to Lin Hui’s hesitant recollection of the situation the next Sunday morning.

Lin Hui’s face was still a little pale. He weakly shook his head and said, “Can you be serious?”

“So, when you woke up and saw that he wasn’t there, you just decided to head back? You didn’t give him a heads up or anything?”

“What’s there to say? I even forgot to take my car keys. I took a taxi back. Oh, that reminds me. My car is still parked at the restaurant.”

Luo Ting scrutinized him for a bit before asking, confused, “Why don’t you seem happy at all? Isn’t this a good thing?”

“…It was just an accident. Not to mention, I was the one who…” Lin Hui really didn’t know how to continue.

Luo Ting still couldn’t understand. “Dude, he got hard for you and then took you to bed. You’re a guy too. Do you think straight guys are going around getting hard for any guy they meet?”

“Why not? You’re also a guy. You should know full well that it’s pretty easy for a guy to… hold on, this isn’t the problem here…”

Lin Hui didn’t know why he had to discuss this with Luo Ting so early in the morning. He’d been in a state of anxiety, unable to calm down, ever since he returned from He Jianshan’s. That was why he wanted to talk to his close friend about it, but he probably would’ve been better off not talking about it at all.

Luo Ting was even more confused. He still didn’t understand why Lin Hui was so worked up. “You seem kind of irritable right now. Why? Are you regretting it?”

“I’m not regretting it. Luo Ting, you just don’t get He Jianshan. Our relationship has always been professional, either as colleagues or as friends. Now that we’ve crossed that boundary, I probably won’t be able to stay close to him anymore. He’s a very clear-cut person. He’s not going to let a fuck buddy hang around him.”

Luo Ting furrowed his brows. “Don’t give yourself too much credit. At most, you’re a one-night stand. Besides, have you ever considered that he might like you?”

“There’s no way.” Lin Hui categorically denied the possibility.

“Why is there no way?” Luo Ting felt like tearing his hair out. “Dude, you’re a catch. Have you forgotten just how popular you were back in college? How many girls liked you? It wasn’t even just the girls! Everyone liked you!”

“You said it yourself. That was back in college, and He Jianshan isn’t a female college student.”

Luo Ting almost couldn’t recognize Lin Hui. Lin Hui may not have the best family background, but his confident and spirited demeanor back in his college days was quite striking, making him impossible to ignore. Now, as a senior executive of Wanzhu, he had clearly done very well for himself, and yet, somehow, he’d become less confident than before.

“Hui, I feel like you’ve got some mental tunnel vision going on. He Jianshan’s impressive, sure, but he’s still a normal, ordinary person. You don’t need to idolize him or anything. Besides, you weren’t even sober. You were quite literally drugged.”

Lin Hui lowered his head, running his fingers along the glass in front of him. He said softly, “I’m not idolizing him. I just… I just…”

Lin Hui didn’t really know how to describe his feelings either. While he might have been a little blurry at the beginning of the kiss, he was definitely clear-headed when he extended an invitation to the other. He didn’t want to blame everything on the drugs or the alcohol. He Jianshan had given him the chance to refuse, but he gave it up. In fact, he’d gotten in bed with He Jianshan in a very sober state of mind.

He simply wanted to go to bed with He Jianshan. He longed to have him, as well as be had by him.

He gave in to his desires, and that’s all there was to it.

Still, Luo Ting was right. He did feel some regret. He only thought about having this fleeting moment with He Jianshan and hadn’t considered how he would face He Jianshan in the future or how he would face himself. In the past few years, he’d been careful, keeping himself at a distance, just so he could stand by him for just a little longer. Now that the two of them had crossed that line, how should he handle himself? As for He Jianshan, he doesn’t need to worry about it. After all, no matter what kind of relationship they had, the one suffering through this turmoil would always be him, Lin Hui, alone.