Chapter 22 Part 1

Lu Yan was knocking on the door while Xiao Heng was sleeping. He was practically nocturnal now, coming back from his night shift and collapsing into bed. He had no intention of answering, but the person knocking was too persistent.

After two straight minutes of knocking, Xiao Heng finally sat up in bed. "Who is it?"

Lu Yan said, "The commanding star of tomorrow."

"...Don't know him."

Lu Yan stood at the door for a while longer, and then it opened.

"Um, there's something."

Xiao Heng had a 'say what you need to say and get the hell out' expression on his face. "Where's this star of tomorrow?"

However, Lu Yan said, "It's a long story."

Xiao Heng refused to communicate and slammed the door shut.

Lu Yan blocked the door with his hand and squeezed through the crack. "What's with your foul temper?"

Xiao Heng walked into the room in his slippers, got into bed, and pulled the covers over his head to continue sleeping.

"It's like this. Fourteen years ago, there was a verdant youth. He held a long-cherished dream..."

As Lu Yan spoke of dreams, his eyes moved away from the gray duvet cover on Xiao Heng's bed, and he glanced around the room Xiao Heng lived in.

The room was still very empty.

It was the same as the last time Lu Yan had visited. There were few appliances—no TV, no computer. Other than the things he had bought before, there was nothing.

Lu Yan walked to Xiao Heng's bedside and continued in a tone used to narrate the "Top Ten Most Touching Figures of the Year": "But he failed. The huge blow of failing the entrance exam made him lose all hope and ambition in life for a time."

"He once wanted to give up on himself, but he still managed to pick himself back up through his own strength."

"For the past decade or so, he has been administering justice among the people, working in the financial industry, and maintaining the peace and stability of the socioeconomic system. Hearing this, you should have already figured out who the protagonist of this story is. That's right, it's our Brother Wei."

"But one failure couldn't stop Brother Wei's steps in pursuit of his dream—today, fourteen years later, he has discovered that as long as you have a dream in your heart, anywhere can become a stage to realize it."

Xiao Heng had no idea what Lu Yan was trying to do.

But he wanted to kill someone.

Lu Yan felt that the more he spoke, the more he sounded like Scar, especially at the moment he said, "Do you want to uphold justice together?"

Lu Yan thought to himself, 'Isn't this a bit too much like a pyramid scheme?'

'Does it seem insincere?'

Lu Yan couldn't continue his train of thought because the young master reached a hand out from under the covers, grabbed him fiercely, and pulled him directly onto the bed.

Xiao Heng was so sleepy he was delirious.

He just wanted the voice by his ear to disappear.

He was completely unaware of what he was doing. He propped one hand up next to Lu Yan's ear, pinning him down, before slowly lifting his eyelids a little to say, "...Shut up."

They were too close.

...

The scent.

The breath.

And that strand of hair hanging down on his neck.

Xiao Heng had also just showered. He smelled of body wash, and his hair wasn't dry, feeling a bit cool as it brushed against his neck.

"Are you fucking crazy!" Lu Yan snapped back to his senses and cursed, trying to struggle free but failing.

"Who's crazy?" Xiao Heng's eyelids lifted a little more. He sneered. "Running over here talking about upholding justice, chasing a fugitive? Did you get your head slammed in a door?"

As they spoke, their eyes met.

Xiao Heng also slowly came to his senses.

The position was indescribably ambiguous; the tips of their noses were almost touching.

The collar of Lu Yan's shirt had been pulled open a bit during the earlier struggle. Because he was often outdoors, tanned by the hot summer sun, his skin wasn't particularly fair. Following the line of his neck down led to his deep-set collarbones.

His eyebrow stud was hard and cold.

His once-shortened hair had grown out again. Xiao Heng suddenly thought of the bewitching, long-haired man standing on the speaker in that poster.

"One hundred thousand," Lu Yan said suddenly.

Xiao Heng didn't know what he meant by this sudden "one hundred thousand."

"?"

"The fugitive's bounty is one hundred thousand."

Xiao Heng, who had just been sharply mocking him with "Did you get your head slammed in a door?", fell silent.

In the face of reality, people yield easily.

The young master was no exception.

Besides, the young master was no longer that young master. He was now very poor, very down on his luck.

After a long moment, Xiao Heng asked, "What's your squad's plan?"

Ten o'clock at night.

Squad 63 successfully held its first meeting.

The meeting location was Lu Yan's place.

The provisional squad members were: Lu Yan, Xiao Heng, Brother Wei, and Zhang Xiaohui.

The door and windows of Lu Yan's room were tightly shut, the curtains drawn tight. Not even a light was on. The room was so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Only the broken, temperamental computer on the desk emitted a faint glow.

The entire meeting was filled with a strong "underground operative" atmosphere. Anyone who didn't know better would think they were holding some kind of undercover conference.

However, Underground Operative No. 1, Lu Yan, sat waiting for a long time, not knowing what Brother Wei was fiddling with. "Brother Wei, what are you doing?"

Brother Wei said, "I picked up a projector from the junkyard! It's pretty new. I'll see if I can fix it; it should be usable."

To make room for the equipment Brother Wei had brought over, Lu Yan had no choice but to take the guitar off the wall and rest it on his lap.

The young master, forced to bow to reality, sat next to him.

"This is the surveillance footage I got from Trust-Mart Supermarket. Everyone, take a look."

The projector actually worked. Brother Wei connected it to the computer and projected the surveillance footage onto the wall. As the image slowly appeared, the room finally brightened up a little.

Xiao Heng managed to open his eyes.

But he didn't look at the surveillance footage. Instead, he noticed the electric guitar in Lu Yan's hands.

He saw the first letter of the headstock logo.

Zhai Zhuangzhi had played in a band for a while. Although his intentions weren't pure, back when he was buying a guitar, he had sent a bunch of pictures asking him which one looked cooler. The logo was identical. "I hear this brand is good. All the pros use them. Should I get the red one or the blue one? Which is cooler?"

Each one cost over ten thousand.

Lu Yan saw him looking over. "Is there something on my face?"

Xiao Heng: "This guitar of yours..."

Lu Yan rested his hand on the strings. "What about my guitar?"

"You play so badly," Xiao Heng said, "so why buy such an expensive guitar?"

A singer.

Practiced guitar diligently for years.

Living on a tight budget, but sure bought an expensive guitar.

"..."

Lu Yan choked. "What business is it of yours?"

Brother Wei pointed at them. "Be serious, you two comrades. No whispering."

The surveillance video wasn't clear.

A swath of gray.

It would freeze every time the person moved.