It took Liu Yong almost 30 minutes to turn his computer off, the office faded into darkness and silence. Few workers stayed in the office building this late at night, leaving Liu Yong to process everything alone. The clip had answered only one question, the person who had killed Wang She wasn’t Fan Lei. Not only was an answer given, there was also an unbearable guilt and ache growing in Liu Yong’s chest. He no longer wanted to read the letter and he wanted to burn the USBs but he couldn’t.

 

He was an officer for the protection of cultivators and demons. This is my job! Liu Yong had countless people killed before his eyes, he had gotten used to the putrid stench of rotting flesh as well as the dirty metallic scent that old blood carried. Even though he had been at his job for over two centuries, a single video was able to tear him back to reality, forcing him to face death as if it was his first time witnessing such a crime.

 

In the end Liu Yong couldn’t open the letter, instead he packed everything back into the box except for the stone in his hand. He couldn’t bear to part with it. Once the office was cleaned, Liu Yong left. Sitting inside his car, he drove around the lit up city without much care as to where he was driving. Various streets and roads passed by but nothing held any detail in his mind. Liu Yong drove for almost an hour before his shaky hands turned the wheel and he unknowingly returned to the hotel.

 

Sunrise was only a couple hours away once the door to his hotel room was pushed open. Liu Yong dragged his heavy feet to the bathroom. He turned the cold water on and stepped in. Not bothering with removing his clothes. The stone warmed his freezing body but the warmth placed a heavy weight on his mind and heart. Shutting off the water Liu Yong removed his drenched clothes and roughly dried his body.

 

Zhou RenShu was sleeping in the middle of the bed, his head resting on Liu Yong’s pillow. Before getting under the blankets Liu Yong took a chain from his bag and clasped the stone around his neck, it felt wrong but he had no idea what to do with it. This sort of token couldn’t be returned to Wang She’s parents and he didn’t have the mental capacity to find out what happened to Fan Lei right now. 

 

Under the blankets Liu Yong still felt cold and confused as well as empty and broken. Zhou RenShu rolled over to squirm his way into Liu Yong’s side, Liu Yong might feel frozen inside but to Zhou RenShu he felt warm. Usually the boy would be pushed away and held at an arm's length for the remainder of the night, however Liu Yong only rolled his body to face the small boy beside him. Wang She and Zhou RenShu are very similar, is this the reasoning for my odd emotions?

 

Liu Yong placed his large palm over Zhou RenShu’s cheek, to him they felt the same. Cold. Zhou RenShu moved his own hand and gripped onto Liu Yong’s just like how Wang She had done to Fan Lei on their final night together. Liu Yong was exhausted after the day's events, he was so exhausted he couldn’t keep his eyes open for any longer. With closed eyes Liu Yong removed his hand from the small boy’s face, instead he slid it to the nape of Zhou RenShu’s neck while his other hand snaked around the small waist, drawing Zhou RenShu into his chest. His hold on the boy was so tight it probably was uncomfortable but he didn’t care. With Zhou RenShu squeezed tightly into his embrace Liu Yong could feel he was alive, he knew Zhou RenShu was safe now.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _

 

For the first time in his life, Zhou RenShu felt sweaty. In his dream he was engulfed in a warm blanket, although the blanket felt meaty and stiff it was warm. Zhou RenShu rolled around in the odd blanket while laughing happily. With his fist still grasping onto the blanket tightly, Zhou RenShu woke up. He was a little taken aback when he saw a firm chest pressed against his face. Liu Yong’s strong hold on Zhou RenShu had lasted the few hours he had been in bed, even with Zhou RenShu wriggling around he didn’t wake up and his arms didn’t loosen.

 

Zhou RenShu tried to get a good look at Liu Yong’s handsome face but the man’s chin was resting on his head, making it very difficult to move about. Zhou RenShu also wanted to make this special moment last so he stopped moving, in case it woke Liu Yong. With such a strong and firm chest pressing against his face Zhou RenShu kept his eyes open. Because he kept them open he saw the small necklace hanging off of Liu Yong’s neck.

 

Ever since Wang Ling had invited Liu Yong to meet her at the hotel bar, Zhou RenShu had thought Liu Yong was interested in that woman, especially when Liu Yong had left him alone two nights in a row. Zhou Renshu stared at the necklace sadly, he closed his eyes since he didn’t want to see such a romantic gift but as he rested his small head against Liu Yong the warm necklace touched against his skin. 

 

Zhou RenShu’s body was extremely warm at this time thanks to Liu Yong but he could still feel the warmth being emitted from the small stone. The warmth made Zhou RenShu feel sadder. This love token is too much, even when they're apart he will still be able to feel her presence and love. PBBBBBT.* Small drops of spittle landed on the stone as well as Liu Yong’s bare chest.

 

*Raspberry SFX

 

Liu Yong stirred in his sleep at the sound Zhou RenShu made. Feeling Liu Yong on the brink of waking, Zhou RenShu pretended to be asleep. The sun was high in the sky, filling the room with light even though the curtains were still drawn. Liu Yong opened his eyes slowly, the images from last night filled his mind again leaving him to feel empty once more. His grip on Zhou RenShu unintentionally tightened, the small boy let out a small groan. Too tight!

 

Hearing the sound Liu Yong loosened his grip before he leant back, Zhou RenShu’s eyes were closed but his eyelids were fluttering. Liu Yong saw how flushed Zhou RenShu was and small beads of sweat had formed along his hairline. “Go shower.”

 

There was no use pretending to sleep since Liu Yong could see through his act, Zhou RenShu peeked through a small slit in his eyelids. Liu Yong was looking at him but it also seemed like he wasn’t looking at Zhou RenShu either. Zhou RenShu didn’t want to leave the strong and warm arms holding him but Liu Yong was already pulling away from him to get out of bed. He had no other choice but to get out of bed too and shower his sweaty body.

 

When Zhou RenShu exited the bathroom Liu Yong was standing on the balcony, drinking coffee whilst smoking a cigarette. I haven’t seen him smoke since the night I first saw him. Breakfast was sitting on the table but it looked like Liu Yong didn’t order anything for himself. Zhou RenShu quickly dressed then took his glass of juice with him. Standing beside Liu Yong under the warm sun. Zhou RenShu couldn’t feel the change in Liu Yong, he only saw the usual expression that was plastered on the man’s face. “Are we going out again today?”

 

Zhou RenShu drank his juice while looking up at Liu Yong, the warm light of the sun gave the tan skin a healthy glow, the light also reflected off his dark long hair beautifully. Liu Yong ignored Zhou RenShu’s stare as he looked at the busy street below. He was looking for someone but he also didn’t want to find that person. “Liu Yong?”

 

The look in Liu Yong’s eyes confused Zhou RenShu, they looked focused yet dazed at the same time. After receiving no answer for the second time, Zhou RenShu decided to leave the man alone and sat at the table to eat his breakfast by himself. Liu Yong stood outside for almost a full hour smoking cigarette after cigarette, by the time he walked back inside he resembled the usual cold Liu Yong. Zhou RenShu was watching TV with the sound off, he had been trying hard to better his reading but he only had the TV to help him which was the same as no help at all.

 

“Did you want to go somewhere today?” Liu Yong stood behind the sofa Zhou RenShu was sitting on, looking at the silent screen. Zhou RenShu turned the TV off then turned around to look up at Liu Yong. “No, I was only wondering if you had to go search for Wu Yun again.”

 

“I've decided to focus on another case now.” Zhou RenShu was confused. We drove for the whole day yesterday searching for Wu Yun, but why did he suddenly decide to change cases? Liu Yong stared at the black screen sitting opposite him. “Do you remember the woman that knocked on our door at the previous hotel? she only stood at the door knocking.”

 

“Yes.” Zhou RenShu thought of the woman staring at the door, it was as if she could see them through the wood. As if she was staring straight into Zhou RenShu’s soul. “Do you remember at the previous hotel, you leaned over the balcony in a daze? You were staring at a woman down on the street. Do you remember her face?”

 

Zhou RenShu thought about what Liu Yong was describing but he couldn’t remember that day. He strained his brain to think of what happened but it was all blank, even on the morning they were leaving his head was feeling foggy and muddled. Zhou RenShu shook his head. “I don’t remember. Did I really lean over the balcony?”

 

Liu Yong looked down at Zhou RenShu, the large eyes staring back at him were confused and a little lost. “Don’t worry about it. Were you practicing your reading?”

 

Turning around Zhou RenShu turned the TV back on, explaining to Liu Yong he was trying to get better at reading by muting the TV and reading the subtitles but he was struggling to understand anything. Liu Yong turned around too and dressed into casual clothes. “Come on, I’ll take you to buy study supplies.”

 

_ _ _ _ _ _

 

Liu Yong drove to the mall, Zhou RenShu didn’t want to admit it to Liu Yong but he had worked at all the cafes inside the mall, he had even worked at some of the fast food places. though all of his jobs ended up firing him. Liu Yong led Zhou RenShu to a stationary store and bought two notebooks as well as a pencil case full of pens and colouring pencils before they walked around to find a bookstore. It had been too long since Liu Yong had stepped foot inside a mall, he couldn’t remember where any of the stores were.

 

“It’s on the second floor.” Zhou RenShu pointed at the escalator to their right. Liu Yong walked behind Zhou RenShu who was now leading the way. “You’ve been here before?”

 

“I used to work here.” Zhou RenShu walked around the second floor, heading towards the large bookstore. “Which store.”

 

Almost all of them! Zhou RenShu didn’t want to admit his long list of previous workplaces so he only gave the name of one of the tea places in the mall. Inside the bookstore, Liu Yong looked around before making his way to the isle with learning books for kids. “How good are you at reading?”

 

Liu Yong held up three levels of chinese reading books. Zhou RenShu picked up the third level but he could only pick out a few symbols, dejectedly he looked through level 2 but he still couldn’t read much. With a dark face he put both books back on the shelf and pointed at the first level book. Liu Yong flicked through the pages then gave Zhou RenShu a small glance. “Really?”

 

Zhou RenShu almost spat blood but held it in. Seeing the angry expression about to break Liu Yong didn’t push and he picked up books from all different levels. If he gets better then he’ll need books with harder exercises. Zhou RenShu thought they would be leaving once Liu Yong had bought him things to study with but Liu Yong wanted to take a look at the tea house Zhou RenShu used to work at. “Show me where it is.”

 

“Wh-Why do you want to see it?” Liu Yong didn’t answer as he looked at Zhou RenShu expectantly. Why did I say the teahouse? Why didn’t I give him the name of the shop that didn’t make fun of me? What will I do if someone recognizes me? Zhou RenShu led the way again with a dark face. When they arrived at the small tea house he almost wanted to lie and say this was the wrong place but Liu Yong walked ahead and entered the shop.

 

“What do you want?” Liu Yong looked at the long menu, this teahouse did both standard brewed tea and bubble tea. Zhou RenShu hid his face behind Liu Yong’s broad shoulder while saying his order quietly. “Strawberry tea with aloe jelly.”

 

Liu Yong stepped forward with Zhou RenShu still hiding behind him. The girl blushed heavily while taking the order before noticing the small person behind the handsome man, she thought that maybe it was a shy girlfriend but she felt she recognized this person. The worker leant to the side to see past Liu Yong. Zhou RenShu moved once he saw the girl staring but Liu Yong betrayed him and stepped to the side.

 

“It’s you!” Liu Yong frowned at the girl's tone while Zhou RenShu’s face turned red. The girl called out to the other workers behind her and they all turned around to see the shrinking Zhou RenShu. A tall handsome youth moved to the counter with a mocking face, replacing the girl. “You dare come back after all the trouble you caused here? Do you know how long it took us to clean your mess? Everyday, for three days, we went home exhausted to our core.”

 

“What did he do?” Liu Yong looked at the group of angry people glaring at Zou RenShu. The group of people turned their eyes to look at Liu Yong, all the girls changed into dainty dolls while the boy with the mocking face proceeded to ridicule the small Zhou RenShu, as if this made him appear more maculine. 

 

“What didn’t he do? First he struggled with taking orders so customers were given free drinks as compensation. When he was moved to the topping section, he still struggled to get orders right so the boss moved him to taking stock and filling the jugs for teas but he overfilled everything causing the pots brewing the tea and the pots cooking the boba boiled over, almost ruining the expensive machines that we had to clean, while all he got was fired.”

 

“Is that all?” Liu Yong stared back at the angry young adults, his words angered everyone since it sounded as if they had been the ones in the wrong. Zhou RenShu tried to hide behind Liu Yong again but the vocal boy scolded him loudly, all the customers sitting and chatting turned to watch the show. “Is that all?! We had to clean his mess! The stupid kid couldn’t read yet he still applied for this job. I heard from my friends that the idiot was fired from all his other jobs too for the same reasoning. What sort of idiot expects to survive in this world if he can’t even read?”

 

The other workers covered their mouths and faces as they tried to stifle their laughter, Zhou RenShu tried to block out the harsh words he had to hear again while his eyes felt hot. Liu Yong nodded along with the boy's words as if he agreed. Taking two steps he grabbed the boy by his collar, the mocking expression turned into fear within a split second and the workers behind him gasped. 

 

“You think it’s funny to laugh at someone struggling yet none of you bothered to help him.” Liu Yong pushed the boy back then turned his cold eyes to stare at the scared girl that had taken their order. “Where’s my drink?”

 

“Eh, they um well there, there uh.” The girl stuttered while a timid boy walked over and handed the two drinks over before running to the back of the crowd. Liu Yong removed the plastic covering the top of both cups then with quick hands both cups were placed on the counter upside down. “I didn’t order that, I want my order redone.”

 

The staff looked at the two cups, if they were to move them the tea and toppings would cover both the counter and floor, the vocal boy looked at his coworkers then back at the old man staring at him. Liu Yong’s eyes were cold and serious. “Im waiting.”

 

Multiple people rushed around trying to hurry to finish the two drinks, once they were completed and handed over, Liu Yong removed the plastic covering again. Just as he was about to flip the cup over the boy in front of him appeared to have gained some confidence. “What’s the point in being this petty? Your boyfriends stupid, is that our fault?”

 

Liu Yong stared the boy down with his haunting glare as he flipped the two cups over, not one drop was spilled as the liquid was held inside by the counter. Liu Yong turned to look at the embarrassed Zhou RenShu. “RenShu, don’t die of dehydration. Your ex-coworkers are trying their hardest to make such a simple order. Take a seat if your legs become too sore.”

 

“You can sit with me.” A pretty schoolgirl patted the empty chair beside her while in her other hand was a phone, she had been recording since the disruption started and was excited to see where it went. Zhou RenShu sat down while waiting for Liu Yong to finish. Liu Yong stepped closer to the counter as he leaned over, whispering to the boy that openly mocked Zhou RenShu so boldly. “I won't continue to act petty, if you’re willing to get your whole team on their knees and beg RenShu for forgiveness.”

 

“You’re fucking psycho.” The boy pulled back while looking at Liu Yong with the same mockery in his eyes that he had for Zhou RenShu. “Then I guess I’ll be wanting my order again, this one wasn’t to my standards.”