November 5, 2025 — 12:22 pm

Chapter 9

“Going for barbecue?” Wen Lan chewed on a tapioca pearl from his milk tea, swallowing it after a while.

“I’m not going. My mom’s rushing me home,” Song Mi held his phone, typing messages rapidly. “My mom’s about to blow up, I’m outta here first!”

“I’m leaving too, Brother Wen, Brother Lin!” Wang Xingzhi held his stomach with one hand and placed the other on Song Mi’s shoulder. “Is your driver picking you up, or are you taking a taxi…”

Lin Ting watched their retreating backs and also got up to stretch. “Me too,”

“Let’s go together then.” Wen Lan interrupted him, gesturing with his chin towards Lin Ting’s phone. “No one’s rushing you home, what’s the hurry.”

Seeing Lin Ting still hesitating, he added, “Anyway, I don’t want to go home. Just keep me company.”

Lin Ting smiled and shook his head. “Fine, you’re paying.”

“You’re so stingy. Let’s go!” Wen Lan tossed his empty milk tea cup, which gurgled loudly, into the trash can and walked directly towards the shared bicycles parked by the arcade entrance. He scanned a code with his phone. “Can you ride one?”

“Obviously.” Lin Ting also scanned a shared bicycle and casually tossed his milk tea cup into the trash can by the shop entrance. “Not to brag, but why doesn’t a young master like you have a driver or chauffeur?”

“Don’t you understand about saving resources, environmental protection, and loving the Earth? Is that something a wealthy second-generation like you, with no depth or cultivation, can comprehend?” Wen Lan scoffed, and then leisurely cycled forward. It was different from when he rode his electric scooter; now he looked like he was cycling through a park by a lake, taking his time, sometimes stopping to adjust his posture, waiting to ride alongside Lin Ting.

“I’m not a second-generation rich kid. That house belongs to my mom’s husband, I’m just staying there.” Lin Ting saw him waiting a couple of meters ahead, looking back. “Aren’t we blocking the road like this? You just ride ahead.”

“It’s fine, there’s no one around now. Besides, if someone comes, they’ll just move out of the way.” Wen Lan turned his head back to continue cycling slowly once he saw Lin Ting catch up. “I was just wondering, last time I picked you up, I followed the GPS you gave me, but the house number had a ‘Gu’ on it. I thought I had the wrong address. Speaking of which, my place is quite close to yours… the Gu family’s. Let’s share a taxi back after eating.”

“Okay.” Lin Ting felt like laughing at Wen Lan’s mention of ‘your… Gu family’ but held back. After all, it was a kind and thoughtful gesture. If he laughed, they might end up fighting again.

The next second, Lin Ting wished he had laughed and fought with Wen Lan.

“Such deep brotherhood, are you acting for me?” A black sedan squeezed into the narrow alleyway. The blinding headlights made Lin Ting’s bicycle wobble. He put a foot down on the ground, averting his eyes from the direct glare of the car lights, and looked at Wen Lan beside him. Wen Lan’s face was grim, his eyes obscured by the car lights as he looked away.

It was Ye Wengong’s voice.

The saying ‘enemies on a narrow road’ was truly vivid. The road was indeed very narrow. If it were any wider, given the agility of a bicycle, there would be nothing to worry about – if one only considered the immediate moment.

Ye Wengong, still in his sharp black suit, got out of the car with two black-clad subordinates. He stood before them with a smile that could be described as ‘benevolent.’ “Didn’t we say, the moment we see you, we beat you up? These injuries look like they’re several days old, not fresh.” The scar, like a centipede, twisted into a strange arc with his smile, making it even more eerie.

Although their previous fight seemed fierce, they had both held back their strength, and with the passing days, there were no lingering marks.

“What do you want?” Wen Lan spoke first.

Ye Wengong frowned with a look of regret and remorse. “I’m thinking, this Lin Ting is more useful than I thought. I’m starting to regret it.”

“Aren’t you afraid of a mad dog anymore?” A chilling coldness gathered in Wen Lan’s eyes. Although he was looking at Ye, Lin Ting couldn’t help but shiver.

At times like these, Wen Lan seemed like a completely different person.

“Mad? I think you look quite good now. Aren’t you trained into a lapdog by me? Give him to me, hmm?” Ye Wengong walked up to Lin Ting, tilting his chin slightly, then looking down. He examined Lin Ting’s face without reservation.

Suddenly, Ye Wengong reached out and grabbed Lin Ting’s neck. The force was not strong, but Lin Ting was extremely displeased.

Seeing this, Wen Lan was about to make a move, but Lin Ting gave him a signal to stop.

“I said, which eye of yours saw that I’m the one being trained?” Lin Ting’s gaze was full of undisguised contempt and disdain. He slightly raised the corner of his mouth, looking at Boss Ye, and slowly moved away the hand that was choking him, a hand that reeked of perfume, then flung it away forcefully.

“Oh?” Ye Wengong glanced between the two of them. Unconcerned by Lin Ting’s actions just now, he put his hands back in his pockets.

Lin Ting slowly walked closer to Wen Lan, winked at him, then put an arm around his waist, resting his chin on his shoulder. He turned his head slightly and took a deep breath at the junction of Wen Lan’s neck and collarbone, right in front of everyone. He should have stopped there, but for some inexplicable reason, he took a bite.

Wen Lan’s waist muscles were firm, and even through his clothes, Lin Ting could imagine the general outline.

Even after their earlier exertion, Wen Lan still smelled good, much better than the overpowering cologne of the person behind him.

The bite wasn’t deep, but it was enough to make Wen Lan glare at him. Lin Ting quickly squeezed Wen Lan’s waist with his hand, effectively suppressing the curse he was about to utter.

“What I mean is, the lapdog is this one.” Lin Ting placed one hand on Wen Lan’s shoulder and the other still on his waist, then turned back to Ye Wengong. “You said just now, who were you going to give me?”

Ye Wengong watched them with an amused expression. “Yo, Wen Lan, if your parents knew, wouldn’t they deeply regret having you?”

Wen Lan gently broke free from Lin Ting’s hand and took two steps forward. “What are you saying? You’ve always known, haven’t you?”

Beneath the smile on his face, Lin Ting recognized something familiar – a sense of helplessness, self-mockery, sadness, or perhaps unrequited love.

He must have misread, Lin Ting thought.

Ye Wengong seemed extremely satisfied. Even his two subordinates wore expressions of disdain. After taking a few photos of the two of them with his phone, he asked, “Is it okay if I take a few pictures?”

Wen Lan looked at Lin Ting, who shook his head.

“As you wish,” Wen Lan said.

Ye Wengong’s shoulders trembled with laughter. He admired the photos on his phone screen with satisfaction and finally got into his car and drove away.

“Phew…” Wen Lan let out a deep breath. “You didn’t have to do that. It’s not like I can’t beat him.”

“What’s the point of fighting? I’m still waiting for you to treat me to barbecue.” Lin Ting nudged him with his elbow. “And I’m sorry for biting you earlier.”

“Oh, you can apologize now? Are you a dog? Why do you bite people so readily?” Wen Lan touched the spot on his neck where he was bitten. “Damn, that actually hurt.”

“Don’t try to extort me. There’s not even a mark. What hurt?” Lin Ting said.

“If it doesn’t hurt, then let me bite you!” Wen Lan said, reaching out to grab him. Seeing this, Lin Ting got on his bicycle and rode away.

“Hey, you crazy dog! You were riding so slowly earlier, I was waiting for you, and now you’re going so fast…” Wen Lan quickly got on his own bike, his voice trailing behind Lin Ting as he chased after him.

The youth’s laughter was like the afterglow of the setting sun, accompanied by the crisp ringing of bicycle bells, breaking through the darkness ahead. It was impossible to tell which frame of the film reel was playing, as if as long as one focused on the present image, one only existed here.

After midnight is not necessarily dawn, and after dusk is not necessarily night. As long as this moment exists, it is good.

In a small alleyway, unnoticed by any of them, a figure slowly emerged from the darkness. On the phone screen was a photo of Lin Ting biting Wen Lan. Because of the distance and the dim light, the photo was blurry when magnified. However, even so, someone familiar could recognize the two people in the photo at a glance.

Lin Ting not coming home for dinner seemed to be no longer unusual. At first, Auntie Fang would still leave some food for him. Later, she probably knew he wouldn’t eat it, so she stopped leaving dinner altogether. And the three of them never said anything.

When he usually came home, the three of them would be in their own rooms, and Lin Ting would just go to his room without interacting with them. But today, he happened to run into Gu Yi coming down the stairs.

“Good evening. Have you eaten?” Gu Yi took the initiative to greet him.

Lin Ting nodded. “Mm.” As he spoke, he walked upstairs.

“With classmates?” Gu Yi stood at the bottom of the stairs, patting the wooden brown sphere at the top of the handrail, and looked up at Lin Ting, who had already reached the second floor.

Lin Ting frowned. “No, I ate alone. Is there something you need?”

“No.” Gu Yi smiled. “Are you going to a gathering next weekend? My classmates really want to meet you.”

“We’ll see.” After speaking, Lin Ting turned and went into his room.

Lin Ting knew this person wouldn’t have any good intentions. Influenced by Su Li and Gu Jiang, his image would be no different from Lin Fang’s. His classmates wanting to meet him was just to show off their superiority as people of status.

He wasn’t kind enough to perform for them.

Lin Ting closed the door, intending to study properly. There was a monthly exam coming up soon, and although his grades were always good, too many things had happened recently, causing him to fall behind.

His learning method was different from others. He didn’t have stacks of practice papers and textbooks. He always felt it was awkward to pretend to be a diligent student.

Would Lin Fang’s son really study diligently at a desk? If that word got out, the neighbors would probably laugh for a long time. So, he preferred to close his door, hold his phone, put on his headphones, and watch online classes, read analyses of past exam papers, and then ponder while lying on his bed. If someone suddenly entered the room, he would close the background apps and switch to any novel website.

Doing well on exams was a sign of intelligence; he could choose the right answers with his eyes closed. He had never thought about working hard. He was a scoundrel just like Lin Fang. After all, the son takes after the father. Lin Ting felt genuinely happy thinking that everyone believed this.

Lin Ting skillfully opened the downloaded past exam papers.PDF on his phone. He had just looked at a math problem when his thoughts were suddenly drawn to the photo from tonight, the one Ye Wengong had taken, and the words, “Wouldn’t your parents deeply regret having you.”

He opened his phone and tapped on Wen Lan’s profile picture. The avatar was his own silhouette in backlight, with a dark blue background. The rest of the photo was black, as if lit from behind with a dark blue light source. If his features weren’t so prominent, Lin Ting wouldn’t have recognized him.

“Are you there?”

“If you have something to say, say it quickly.” Wen Lan replied almost instantly.

“Does the centipede know your parents? Is that photo okay?”