BF Chapter 5

Zhan Shili’s gaze lingered on Xu Shen’s eyes, which were filled with playfulness and banter. They were long and narrow with a lovely curve, the outer corners tilting up slightly, looking all the more alluring when he smiled and poked fun at others.

Reflected at the center of those bright pupils was Zhan Shili’s own reflection; Xu Shen was staring at him intently at this moment.

After a brief pause, Zhan Shili raised his hand and unhurriedly caught the fingers Xu Shen was using to hook his tie knot. Giving them a light pinch, he pulled the hand down.

“So what if it is?” He admitted it without a shred of guilt or panic.

Sitting on his desk, Xu Shen looked down at him from above, tracing the subtle shifts in his expression.

This man had never been a pushover. Pretending to be loyal and honest, he was perhaps more ruthless at his core than anyone else.

Even his own father had been fooled by him.

Xu Shen lowered his eyes, and for a moment, alarm bells went off in his mind, warning him of danger.

That very sense of danger stimulated and teased his nerves, leaving him extraordinarily thrilled.

“So what’s with you? Sacrificing your own body just to achieve your goals?” Xu Shen said, his voice laced with ridicule. “Isn’t playing with someone’s feelings a bit low?”

Zhan Shili asked, “Are you demanding an explanation from me on behalf of your third brother?”

Xu Shen said, “Just asking out of curiosity.”

Zhan Shili replied calmly, “You think I’m playing with his feelings?”

Xu Shen caught the subtext: “Are you trying to say you’re actually sincere?”

Zhan Shili didn’t answer directly. “Are you that curious?”

Xu Shen looked straight at him. “If that’s really the case, I’m actually a bit jealous of him. My third brother might be in poor health, but he has everything. I’m my father’s son too, yet I have nothing.”

It was that same tone again, intentionally or unintentionally showing weakness and submission.

Zhan Shili played along with his words and asked, “Then what should we do about it?”

Xu Shen’s gaze turned fervent, and his words were blunt: “Nic, can you treat me the way you treat him?”

Zhan Shili remained noncommittal. “I’ll have to think about that.”

Xu Shen stared at the composed man before him, the expression on his face gradually dimming. “Forget it then.”

Zhan Shili asked, “Are you really going to just forget it?”

Xu Shen slid down from his desk and sat back in his seat. “I shouldn’t have made a request like that to put you on the spot. Just take it as me being bored.”

He was clearly doing it on purpose by blurring truth and falsehood while playing hard to get, clearly operating with ulterior motives.

Zhan Shili didn’t expose him and resumed working, pulling a few sheets from the documents he had been reviewing earlier and dropping them into the shredder beside him.

As Xu Shen watched his movements, Zhan Shili offered an explanation after finishing: “The Eldest Young Master and the Senior Uncle are both executive directors of the company. The police won’t believe that their involvement in fraud and money laundering was merely personal conduct. They’ll likely come to the company soon to check project records they’ve handled in the past. Those projects themselves are clean, so I’m having someone organize the files beforehand to save us some trouble. As for those pages I just shredded, there was some supporting evidence. The Eldest Young Master embezzled company funds before; the boss already covered the deficit for him. He doesn’t want the police finding out to avoid making things difficult to explain to the other shareholders and directors.”

After speaking, Zhan Shili made a phone call to have someone come in and empty the shredder’s bin.

Xu Shen remarked, “My eldest brother really was more trouble than he’s worth. Even after death he still needs my father to wipe his ass. But Nic, aren’t you afraid I’ll tell everyone about this?”

“Who could you possibly tell?” Zhan Shili said dismissively. “Didn’t you come back planning to play the good son?”

Xu Shen asked, “Do you know me that well?”

Zhan Shili replied, “Is that not the case?”

Xu Shen shrugged. “Who knows.”

“Young Master Shen, you don’t know me that well either.”

Zhan Shili interlaced his fingers in a more relaxed posture, looking at him as he spoke: “Regarding your earlier question about whether I was playing with your third brother’s feelings: he was the one who took the initiative to suggest we give dating a try. He explicitly said he didn’t care how I viewed him, so it doesn’t count as deception.

…As for whether my feelings are sincere… again, no comment.”

Xu Shen burst into laughter. “Alright, my bad for crossing the line.”

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The funeral for Xu Zijie was scheduled three days later.

On the night before the funeral procession, Xu Shiji came in person to keep vigil at the memorial hall. Over the past few days, there has been a constant stream of mourners. On this final night, everyone from the Xu family was present; regardless of what they truly felt inside, they all had to put on a show of grief for appearances.

As Xu Zijie’s full brother, Xu Ziren had been acting like the head of the Xu family these past few days, busying himself back and forth to personally receive the distinguished guests.

As for Xu Zijie’s wife, Huang Minli, she sat silently by the brazier burning joss paper the entire time. Her only daughter with Xu Zijie, Joyce, who studied in the UK, had just flown back yesterday and quietly stayed by Huang Minli’s side, bowing occasionally to thank the visiting mourners.

Xu Shen’s gaze rested on the mother and daughter for a moment before casually sweeping over the others present.

Apart from Xu Zijie’s daughter, the third generation of the Xu Family also included a pair of fraternal twins born to Xu Ziren and Lin Meina. Interestingly enough, Xu Zijie had been an irresponsible slacker well into his forties, yet his daughter he raised was obedient and sensible. On the contrary, Xu Ziren was the most capable among Xu Shiji’s sons, yet his children were utterly useless good-for-nothings—at twenty, all of them knew nothing more than eating, drinking, and playing all day.

Even now in the mourning hall, those two were hiding off to the side slacking off on their phones, acting as if none of this had anything to do with them. Xu Shiji was too immersed in the grief of losing his son to notice; otherwise, he likely would have complained about the family’s bad fortune again.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out near the back. Zhong Zhihua’s wife had brought her daughter to pay their respects. After offering her prayers, she abruptly walked up to Xu Shiji, fell to her knees, and wept, begging Xu Shiji to save her husband.

“Zhihua just got out of the Major Crime Unit, only to be taken away by the Commercial Crime Bureau! They won’t even grant him bail! Brother-in-law, I beg you, you’re the only one who can save Zhihua now…”

Xu Shiji maintained a dark face without taking a stance, so this aunt-in-law firmly refused to get up. Xu Shiji’s second wife, Qin Su, and his second daughter-in-law, Lin Meina—who usually hated each other’s guts—in a rare moment chose to sing the same tune, making sarcastic remarks on the side. Their comments were nothing more than accusing Zhong Zhihua of leading Xu Zijie astray, not to mention that his suspicion for murdering Xu Zijie hadn’t been fully cleared yet.

The memorial hall was noisy and chaotic. After sitting for a moment, Xu Shen stood up and, taking advantage of the distraction while no one was paying attention, pushed open the door and stepped into the mortuary behind the hall.

Xu Zijie’s body lay inside a crystal coffin. After restoration, his original features were barely recognizable. Xu Shen stopped beside it, watching cold-eyedly for a while; no matter how arrogant or overbearing a person was, once dead, they were nothing more than a repulsive heap of rotting flesh.

He suddenly recalled a moment from his childhood when the old master of the Xu Family said he wanted to see him. Xu Shiji had brought him back, only to abandon him alone in the garden where he ran into Xu Zijie, who was drunkenly flying into a rage. The Eldest Young Master had kicked him so hard it broke two of his ribs.

That had happened over twenty years ago when he was only six or seven years old. The Xu Family assumed he had forgotten everything, but in truth, he remembered every detail.

By the time Xu Shen emerged from the mortuary, the farce outside had already come to an end.

Zhong Zhihua’s wife was being supported by her daughter as they left. Watching them walk away into the distance, Xu Shen caught a voice dripping with resentment drifting over: “Treating us so heartlessly… mark my words, payback will come for them sooner or later.”

He paused and looked back at the members of the Xu Family in the memorial hall, who were acting as if nothing had happened, until his eyes met those of Zhan Shili, who was standing next to Xu Shiji.

Zhan Shili glanced behind him, confirming that the place he had just come out of was the mortuary. His gaze froze briefly before flitting away.

Xu Shen walked back to his seat and sat down as though nothing had happened.

A bit later, Xu Shiji was persuaded by the crowd to head back. At his old age, he couldn’t handle staying up late; even if he wanted to keep vigil, his body simply wouldn’t allow it. The others, however, had to stay behind to keep watch through the entire night.

Xu Shen stepped out to the vending machine in the hallway, wanting to grab a cup of coffee, only to unexpectedly find Zhan Shili there as well.

Zhan Shili had just bought a cup of hot milk and said, “Your third brother didn’t eat dinner and his stomach is a little upset, so I bought him something to drink.”

“I thought you had already left with my dad.” Losing his interest in buying coffee, Xu Shen leaned against the wall with crossed arms, looking at him.

Zhan Shili explained, “I just saw the boss off to his car. He wasn’t feeling well, so Assistant Liu took him home first. I stayed behind to keep an eye on things here.”

“Keep an eye on what?” Xu Shen asked with curiosity. “My second brother is here too. Does he still need you to keep watch? Is my dad that untrusting of him?”

Zhan Shili didn’t wish to dwell on the matter. “Not to that extent.”

Xu Shen looked down at the cup of milk in his hands. “Nic, being this considerate to my third brother… isn’t that a little too biased?”

“You want a drink too?” Zhan Shili offered the paper cup to him. “Do you want this?”

“Forget it,” Xu Shen shook his head lightly. “You bought it for him. How could I possibly steal it from him?”

Zhan Shili looked at him. “You really don’t want it?”

“I don’t,” Xu Shen refused. “It wasn’t bought for me, so I don’t want it.”

Zhan Shili let out a quiet scoff, likely thinking that this Young Master Shen was far too difficult to serve.

“What were you doing running off to the mortuary by yourself just now?” Zhan Shili asked, changing the subject.

Xu Shen thought for a moment before replying, “Just curious to see what a person looks like after they die.”

“Haven’t you seen it before?”

After two seconds of silence, Xu Shen replied, “I don’t remember.”

Of course he had seen it.

It was at a time even earlier than when he had been working illegally and barely making ends meet overseas, when his mother had died in the subdivided flat they were living in.

Zhan Shili then asked, “Now that you’ve seen it, how does it feel?”

Xu Shen sneered, “He died too hideously. His arms and legs were all broken and then sewn back together. When I was little, I had a doll whose limbs tore up later on. My mother used a needle to sew them back together for me. It looked just like him, hideous.”

Zhan Shili caught the disdain in his eyes. “Aren’t you afraid of having nightmares after seeing this?”

Xu Shen said, “I haven’t done anything shameful or guilty. Why would I feel paranoid or worry about having nightmares?”

“Didn’t you say you were scared of the dark last time?”

“Being afraid of the dark doesn’t mean being afraid of ghosts,” Xu Shen said quietly, “Humans are far scarier than ghosts.”

Zhan Shili nodded, bringing the topic to an end.

Xu Shen looked once again at the cup of milk in his hand and teased, “It’s getting cold. If you take it to my third brother now, drinking it will probably only make his stomach feel worse.”

Zhan Shili cast a downward glance at it and casually tossed it into a nearby trash can.

Just as he turned around intending to buy another cup, Xu Shen suddenly took a step forward, grabbed him by the collar, and pushed him directly into the adjacent stairwell.

Zhan Shili was pushed against the wall. Standing with his back pressed against it, he neither moved nor struggled.

Xu Shen drew his breath close, his voice becoming a little unsteady: “Nic, if my stomach was hurting, would you buy milk just for me?”

Late at night, the lighting in the funeral home stairwell was dim. Zhan Shili could barely make out Xu Shen’s bright, dark eyes staring intently at him. “You even have to compete with him over this?”

Xu Shen persisted, “Can’t I?”

After a moment of a tense, silent stalemate, Zhan Shili reached out abruptly, wrapping an arm around his waist to pull him close, and spun around, pinning him against the wall instead.

Xu Shen’s breathing grew heavy. Zhan Shili raised his hand and forcefully pinched his chin, his fingers mercilessly toying with his cheeks, scrutinizing the face so close to his with the faint thread of light filtering through the crack in the door.

“Like you said that day, your third brother is a major shareholder of the company, that he has value to me. What about you? What do you have that makes it worth it for me to do all that for you? What can you give me? From the first day you stepped foot into the Xu Family home, you’ve provoked me time and time again. What exactly is your purpose?”

Zhan Shili’s tone was fierce, like a ravenous wolf ripping off its human disguise, finally exposing its true nature.

Yet Xu Shen wasn’t afraid in the slightest. Looking straight into his eyes, he said softly: “I’ll give you myself. Do you want me?”

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