"I'm listening…"
Yibo said into the phone pressed to his ear after he got home. Malo had called him four times earlier while he was still with Zhan. Yibo knew it had to be something serious...that was the only reason his attention had shifted so completely. He had ended things quickly and left without delay.
After getting into his car and leaving the street, he pulled over briefly and tried calling Malo back twice, but there was no answer. He eventually drove all the way home. He had just changed into his usual house clothes...shorts and a sleeveless shirt...when Malo finally returned the call.
"There are two issues, Lion. Two separate ones."
Yibo shook his head slightly.
"Do you think I'd forget that I'm paying you, Malo?"
Malo laughed in his ear.
"Easy, boss of the jungle. I'm just reminding you."
Then his tone shifted, becoming serious.
"Peng has fully committed to this operation. Right now, he's close to meeting Mr. Xiao...the father of the man he wants to marry. He's started moving cocaine, just like Mr. Xiao does, purely to get information about him. And we got lucky: during the first run, we found someone who claims to know a few of Mr. Xiao Die's men and says he can look into things for us."
Yibo nodded silently, his eyes fixed on the bottle of Nangfu water sitting untouched on his bedside table.
"Malo, are you saying this plan was your idea?"
"I advised him," Malo replied. "And I'm the one who found the dealer we bought the drugs from."
Yibo almost asked why, but the answer surfaced before the question left his mouth. This was exactly why Malo was still working for Peng. They had never agreed that Malo would stop...only that he would keep Yibo informed of everything Peng was involved in. Yibo exhaled slowly, rubbing his forehead before calling his name.
"Malo…"
He didn't wait for a response.
"How much will it take for you to stop working for Peng?"
To his surprise, there was silence on the line...long, heavy seconds...before Malo finally spoke.
"This time, it's not about money, Lion. If I stop working for Peng now, it would be like walking straight into a trap. He would suspect me immediately, and once I stop being useful, he'll find a way to eliminate me. And if that happens, both you and I lose our access."
Yibo nodded slowly. The logic settled in.
"You're right. But there's still a way to stay involved without helping him succeed. For example, if someone gives you information, you can mislead him...send him in circles without passing on anything useful."
Malo let out a short laugh, his voice tinged with admiration.
"We really feel your absence in this game, Lion. Your mind is dangerous in the best way. If you were still fully in it, you'd be making far more than whatever this new life of yours is giving you."
Yibo ignored the comment.
"So....deal or not?"
"You're paying," Malo replied lightly. "So yes. I'll do it."
Yibo nodded as if Malo could see him, then lifted his gaze toward the window across the room.
"And the second issue? What's the other one?"
Malo cleared his throat and coughed softly before continuing.
"I found out why Peng is so determined to marry him."
Yibo's thoughts froze instantly.
"He told me he wants nothing from the boy except revenge for his father. He plans to take that revenge in the same way his own father was destroyed....through betrayal. He swore that he would kill him eventually, but before that, he wants him to experience the same pain his father did: trusting someone completely, treating him like family, only to be deceived and murdered. That's why he insists on marrying him. He wants the boy to trust him fully...so much that even his parents will accept him. And when he finally carries out his revenge, even Mr. Xiao Die will know that he didn't just kill him… he married him first, then destroyed him with the same mark of betrayal that ruined his own father. That's why he never considered kidnapping him or taking him by force. He wants trust first. Marriage is the weapon."
Malo finished speaking and waited for Yibo's response.
But seconds passed in silence.
He pulled the phone away from his ear to check whether the call had dropped. The timer showed the line was still connected. He brought it back to his ear and called his name again...this time using his real name.
"Yibo…"
The call dragged Yibo back from the place his thoughts had thrown him the moment Malo began speaking. It wasn't that he hadn't heard the rest...he had. Every word. Every detail. And each one arrived carrying layers of meaning, splitting and reshaping themselves inside his mind and chest all at once.
Yibo lowered his head, swallowed hard, and exhaled deeply before speaking.
"I hear you, Malo. I hear you… thank you. I'll be in touch."
He ended the call immediately, not waiting to hear what Malo might say next.
Still holding the phone, he breathed heavily, the sound rough and strained, almost painful. He stayed like that for several minutes before suddenly hurling the phone across the room. It slammed into the wall with enough force to echo before dropping to the floor.
He turned and walked into the bathroom attached to the room. Standing at the sink, he braced both hands against it and bent forward, staring down at the faucet.
No matter how much he had tried to avoid the word deception, no matter how he had softened it in his mind, he knew exactly what he was planning to do to Zhan and his family. He was going to deceive them...carefully, deliberately...using lies crafted well enough to secure a marriage.
And now that he knew Peng's entire plan was also built on deception, his mind stalled, unable to form a clean distinction.
So what exactly separates me from Peng? What makes me different, if I take those very words Duan warned me about and build them on the same foundation of deceit?
"The love you give him might destroy him more completely than anything Peng plans to do."
The words resurfaced, echoing inside him.
If it was true...if after deceiving Zhan, the love he offered would still shatter him later...then what had he really accomplished?
How was he any different from what Peng intended to do?
Was it just temporary happiness?
Or sparing Zhan from death at Peng's hands?
And even then...was death truly worse than the kind of life that could follow?
Hadn't he himself begged for death more times than he could count?
Hadn't he imagined ways to disappear entirely, crushed by years of grief and pressure?
He raised his head and met his own eyes in the mirror. If he reconsidered everything now, would his plan change? And if it did...how would he get what he wanted? Not just what he wanted, but the life he had built around that goal?
It was impossible.
He stared at his reflection for a long moment, then told himself it was pointless to keep circling these thoughts. There was only one path forward, and it would not change. It could not change. Nothing would ever push him back toward the life he had already abandoned.
His past was over. He had walked away from it. If he could erase it completely, he would...everything except the image of his mother. And since he couldn't erase even that, he would continue avoiding the memories altogether. Nothing would ever be allowed to pull him back.
Straightening, he turned on the faucet, cupped water in his hands, and splashed it over his face. Water ran down his neck, soaking the front of his singlet and his shoulders.
I will not change my plan, he reaffirmed silently.
Zhan was only a passing presence in his life...nothing more. He would not allow something temporary to destroy him completely. He believed that as firmly as he believed many other things.
When he left the bathroom and returned to the room, he crouched where his phone lay and picked it up. The screen was cracked along the edge, but still functional.
He scrolled through his call log and found Duan's number.
One ring, then two...and Duan answered.
After a brief greeting, Yibo said calmly, "Duan, the man's parents contacted me, wanted to meet on Saturday. I need to meet the people you found so we can plan everything properly and make sure it goes exactly as intended."
Duan said,
"Saturday...that's three days from now. Alright, I'll speak to my friend and have him send them over. He already said it wouldn't be a problem; this kind of work is exactly what they do. But what about the background checks we discussed? What if they insist on investigating you?"
Yibo nodded.
"That won't be an issue either. We'll plan for that with them. I just don't want any delays."
"They won't push too hard," Duan replied. "It's their line of work. They'll just charge you more, Yibo. I'm telling you now...this will be expensive."
Yibo nodded again.
"That's the money value. You use them to deliver exactly what you need. Nothing more, nothing less."
Duan let out a quiet breath over the line.
"That's true…" Then he added, more carefully, "Everything will go smoothly, Yibo. It will unfold exactly the way you want. The only thing I want to advise is this...try to manage your relationship with that man from now on. Don't let it grow too deep, or it could become a problem."
The words echoed in Yibo's ear...twice. After Duan finished speaking, he still heard the sentence repeating, though he couldn't tell whether it was the phone or his own thoughts replaying it.
He closed his eyes fully, lowered his head from where he was crouched, and pressed his forehead between his thumb and index finger.
Manage your relationship?
Did Duan mean he should stop doing certain things when he was with Zhan?
The truth was, he didn't even know what he was doing anymore when Zhan was around.
****
Aunt Hsiao turned from Mama Taichen, who had just come back from Nainai's room, her face glowing with excitement as she explained the unexpected "blessing" Nainai had summoned her to witness...how a young man named Yibo, Zhan's suitor, had visited and brought piles of clothes and money to greet her.
Aunt Hsiao looked at Fuyue, who had paused his phone scrolling and was now staring at her. She glanced back at Mama Taichen, then at Fuyue again, before rising abruptly and heading into the bedroom.
Without asking a single question, Fuyue stood and followed her inside.
"What am I hearing, Fuyue? What is going on?" she asked the moment he entered.
Confusion spread clearly across Fuyue's face as he shook his head.
"I don't understand either, Mom. None of this makes sense. Who is Yibo? How does Zhan even know him? When did all this happen...for him to suddenly appear at Nainai's place?"
Aunt Hsiao sighed, hands on her hips.
"Could it be that boy is planning something behind our backs? Could it be that he knows every move we're making?"
Fuyue grabbed his head.
"I'm finished, Mom. If that's the case, I'm completely ruined. I told you...Peng is not someone to take lightly. He's ruthless. He could have me removed without hesitation."
Trying to hide her own worry, Aunt Hsiao looked at him steadily.
"Calm down. Don't panic. He doesn't have the power to touch you."
"Mom," Fuyue cut in sharply, shaking his head, "please stop saying that. You don't know who Peng really is. You don't know what I've seen. I swear, he's capable of far worse than you imagine."
He emphasized his words with a pointed finger.
Aunt Hsiao watched him pace and sit, then rise again at the edge of the bed, while she tried to steady her own thoughts. Then, suddenly, an idea struck her...clear, sharp, and bright enough that she could almost see it flash before her eyes.
She moved quickly, stopping Fuyue and pressing him down onto the bed. Holding his gaze, she said firmly, "Calm yourself. There is a way out. There is a solution. This might even be the opportunity we've been searching for."
Fuyue stared at her, bewildered.
"I don't understand, Mom. What do you mean? How?"
Aunt Hsiao smiled.
"Take your phone right now. Call Peng. Tell him you have information...important information he'll want to hear. Make it sound urgent. Make him curious enough to listen. Once you have his attention, the rest will follow exactly as we plan."
For several seconds, Fuyue simply stared at her, processing her words. Then a wide smile spread across his face, and he nodded.
"You're right," he said.
"You've thought this through, Mom."