Song Yuzhang: Chapter 176 - Whirpool
While Song Yuzhang was reading in bed, Fu Mian came back. Carrying the scent of perfume and alcohol, he sat down at the edge of the bed. Song Yuzhang glanced at him, set his book aside, leaned over, and sniffed at him. Fu Mian looked at him with interest, curious to see his reaction.
A look of intoxicated pleasure spread across Song Yuzhang’s face. “Smells wonderful,” his eyes lit up. “Went out to have some fun?”
Fu Mian had indeed intended to tease him a little, but judging from Song Yuzhang’s reaction, it wasn’t jealousy—it looked more like envy, the kind of envy one man might feel toward another.
After that brief brightness, Song Yuzhang’s eyes slowly dimmed. He lay back flat on the bed, limbs splayed, and said, “I want a pair of scissors.”
“What do you need scissors for?” Fu Mian untied the sash of his robe.
“Fengxian’s hair keeps getting in his eyes. I want to trim it for him.”
Fu Mian bent down and inhaled the scent of his skin. “I’ll send someone to cut it for him.”
With his hands tucked behind his head, Song Yuzhang let Fu Mian kiss and lick him little by little. But when Fu Mian reached his face, Song Yuzhang suddenly turned his head and avoided his lips.
Fu Mian cast him a sideways glance. Song Yuzhang’s profile looked somewhat cold.
In the silence, Fu Mian reached out and grabbed his shoulder. “Zhuqing.”
Song Yuzhang turned onto his side. “I’m tired today.”
“You’ve been resting all day. How are you tired?”
“Get lost.”
Song Yuzhang had been obedient for so long that this rare burst of temper left Fu Mian completely unable to get angry. After a moment’s thought, he said, “You want scissors? I’ll give them to you tomorrow. I’ll watch you cut. Zhuqing, don’t blame me. With me, you’ve always owed a bit of trust.”
Song Yuzhang turned his face away, his expression solemn. “How long do you plan to keep me locked up like this? Don’t say a lifetime—I’ll go mad.”
Fu Mian’s expression darkened slightly. “Ever since you got to Haizhou, you’ve started having wandering thoughts, haven’t you?”
Song Yuzhang suddenly sat up. “Wandering thoughts? What does that even mean? Wanting to go out, wanting to have fun, wanting freedom—that’s wandering thoughts? Then fine, I have wandering thoughts! A-Mian, no matter how badly I’ve wronged you, I’ve never locked you up like a prisoner all day!”
A sharp light flickered in Fu Mian’s eyes. He said slowly, “Are you deliberately trying to quarrel with me?”
Without another word, Song Yuzhang got out of bed, slipped his feet into his slippers, and headed outside. He pushed open the door and went out. Only after a while did Fu Mian get up and follow.
The courtyard wasn’t large. After just a few steps, Song Yuzhang reached the main gate. There were guards stationed there. Seeing him rush out in disheveled clothes, they didn’t know where to look. When he reached for the bolt, they hurriedly stretched out their hands to stop him.
Fu Mian came up from behind, wrapped his arms around Song Yuzhang, and carried him back inside.
Song Yuzhang didn’t struggle, letting himself be thrown back onto the bed.
Fu Mian stood there with a dark expression, watching Song Yuzhang breathe lightly on the bed.
“I’ll run tomorrow.”
Song Yuzhang said, staring at the ceiling. “As long as you’re not here, I’ll run. They won’t dare touch me. If anyone lays a hand on me, I’ll smash my head against the wall.”
“Threatening to die again?” Fu Mian sat at the bedside, grabbed his dangling legs, and tossed them back onto the bed. “Fine. Starting tomorrow, I’ll tie you to the bed. You won’t go anywhere.”
“Then I’ll go on a hunger strike.”
“If you go on a hunger strike, that actor won’t get a single bite either.”
“Fine. We’ll die together. At least I’ll have company on the road to the underworld.”
“That’s enough!”
Fu Mian clapped a hand over Song Yuzhang’s mouth. His palm was broad, covering the lower half of his face completely. Even then, Song Yuzhang refused to look at him. Instead, he grabbed Fu Mian’s hand and forcefully pulled it away. Turning his face aside, he lowered his voice, anger laced within it. “Try being locked up for a few months! Every day with nothing but a few damn books I can’t even understand! I want to dance, drink, watch movies, gamble!”
By the end, he sounded aggrieved in a self-abandoning sort of way. He ducked his head under the pillow, covering it tightly with both hands, presenting only his backside to Fu Mian.
The flicker of anger Fu Mian had just felt wavered and went out. He couldn’t help but laugh at Song Yuzhang’s ridiculous posture and reached out to embrace him around the waist and legs. “Hey, Zhuqing, aren’t you two years older than me? Why are you suddenly throwing a child’s tantrum?”
No response.
“Good brother, all this fuss just for dancing, drinking, movies, and gambling?”
“Don’t bother me. You had your fun and came back just to disgust me, to get revenge? To hell with you!”
The more he listened, the more amused Fu Mian became. He kissed him and called out toward the door, “Bring two bottles of foreign liquor!”
Top-grade whisky. The moment the cork was pulled, the fragrance of the liquor spread through the room. Song Yuzhang poured himself half a glass and took a sip. A trace of delight appeared on his face. “Good liquor,” he said, then added regretfully, “Too bad there’s no ice.”
Fu Mian sat cross-legged on the bed with him. At that, he touched Song Yuzhang’s thigh. “You’re not suited to cold things right now. You should drink less, too.” Song Yuzhang cast him a sidelong look. Fu Mian grinned. “My good brother, it’s for your own good. A little today, a little tomorrow—steady and slow. That way you won’t upset your stomach.”
Song Yuzhang took another sip and said in a commanding tone, “Cigarettes.”
Fu Mian got off the bed and brought him a cigar.
One hand holding a cigar, the other a drink, Song Yuzhang looked utterly at ease, perfectly suited to the role. He was born a libertine; this was how he should be.
At first, Fu Mian only watched him with a smile. But as he kept watching, he suddenly realized that Song Yuzhang’s outburst wasn’t accidental—it was inevitable.
A grown man kept in a square courtyard day after day, doing nothing—no matter how good a person was, he would turn into a useless wreck.
Song Yuzhang was not a wreck. Song Yuzhang was a man of mettle. And what would it look like if you raised such a man into uselessness?
A chill ran through Fu Mian’s heart. Watching Song Yuzhang exhale smoke across from him, he knew he didn’t want to see him reduced to a useless shell.
Fu Mian pulled at Song Yuzhang’s ankle and placed his foot across his folded legs. His foot was very fair, bluish-purple veins faintly visible across the instep. Because he moved so little, even the soles had become soft and tender.
“I went to see Zhang Changshan today.”
Song Yuzhang lifted his eyes to look at him. Through the milky haze of smoke, Fu Mian could still see a faint spark gathering in that languid gaze.
Fu Mian stroked the top of his foot and said in a low voice, “He agreed to kill Shen Chengduo. The condition is that I hand you over to him.”
Song Yuzhang blew out a stream of smoke. “Didn’t expect Zhang Changshan to be so devoted to me.”
Fu Mian’s hand paused. His sharp gaze lifted.
Song Yuzhang raised a brow at him. “That surprising?”
Through clenched teeth, Fu Mian said, “You never told me you two…”
“Don’t overthink it,” Song Yuzhang said. “He’s not capable of getting me into his bed.”
The tightness in Fu Mian’s chest slowly eased.
A figure like Meng Tingjing—Fu Mian could at least regard him as a rival in love. But someone like Zhang Changshan, that half-old man, only made him feel that Song Yuzhang had been defiled. The mere thought of it disgusted him.
Fu Mian suspected for a moment that Song Yuzhang might be deliberately provoking him, but then felt he wouldn’t joke about something like that. His expression was unreadable.Song Yuzhang asked, “Did you agree?”
Fu Mian steadied himself and looked fixedly at him. “I agreed.”
Song Yuzhang let out an “Oh.” He finished the liquor in his glass, set it aside, and with a cigar between his lips leaned forward to pour another drink. As he turned back, he took the cigar from his mouth and, without warning, pressed the glowing tip onto the back of Fu Mian’s hand.
He pressed hard. The skin on Fu Mian’s hand blistered at once. Song Yuzhang’s eyes were sharp and bright as he ground the cigar in, saying slowly, word by word, “Fu Mian, to hell with you.”
Fu Mian shook his hand free and flung the cigar to the floor. Grabbing Song Yuzhang by the shoulders, he forced him down. His palm throbbed with searing pain, yet his heart surged with fierce excitement. “Don’t you hate being locked up by me? Wouldn’t it be better to let you stay somewhere else for a change?”
“Get—lost—”
Fu Mian kissed him without further argument. Song Yuzhang bit down, catching his tongue, but Fu Mian ignored the pain, holding him tightly and fumbling to pull at his clothes.
At first Song Yuzhang seemed furious, resisting stubbornly. Gradually, however, he yielded. His sweat-damp arms draped over Fu Mian’s shoulders, cursing him viciously all the while.
When it was over, Fu Mian held him close and said in a low voice, “I lied to him. What is he to me? How could I possibly bear to hand you over to him?”
Song Yuzhang had likely guessed as much. He traced the long scar across Fu Mian’s chest and replied softly, “He’s not easy to fool.”
“Maybe he was fooling me too.”
“True enough. If he hadn’t fooled me back then, how would I have ended up in your hands?”
Fu Mian kissed his cheek. “When did you figure it out?”
“When I wasn’t feeling well.”
Fu Mian fell silent, hugging him tighter. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he dies painfully.”
Song Yuzhang smiled faintly. “You’d better be careful. Zhang Changshan isn’t a simple man.”
Fu Mian lowered his head and gazed at him. He thought Song Yuzhang was beautiful, wonderful—he liked him very much. Hatred grows out of love; and when hatred returns to love, then it truly becomes incurable.
Fu Mian said, “Now isn’t the time. When I’ve dealt with what needs dealing with, and the people who need dealing with, you’ll be free. Then I’ll go dancing, gambling, and to the movies with you.”
“I’m afraid by then I won’t have the heart or strength left.”
“A-Mian…” Song Yuzhang took Fu Mian’s hand and placed it over his stomach. The once well-defined muscles there had thinned to only a slight layer. “I’m going to waste away.”
Fu Mian stroked his smooth skin and kissed his cheek. “Tomorrow you cut that actor’s hair. I’ll cut yours. After that, I’ll practice with you.”
Song Yuzhang lay in his arms without speaking. After a long while, he said, “I want to take revenge myself.”
“I don’t blame you. I owe you. However you treat me, I won’t blame you. But I don’t owe Zhang Changshan or Shen Chengduo anything. They betrayed me, plotted against me—I can’t swallow that anger.” He lifted his face, a spark flashing in his expression. “A-Mian, will you help me?”
Fu Mian felt himself falling into a strange whirlpool. At its center were Song Yuzhang’s eyes—the intimacy unique to two people leaning together in the night, murmuring softly. They had hated, they had loved, and now they were once again inseparable.
Zhang Changshan and Shen Chengduo were now his enemies—and Song Yuzhang’s as well.
And he and Song Yuzhang could be of one heart and mind.
“Of course I’ll help you,” Fu Mian said.
Song Yuzhang caught his hand. A vivid blister had risen on the back of it. With a press of his fingernail, the blister burst, blood welling out. Song Yuzhang said, “A-Mian, I’m not useless. If you help me, I’ll help you too. Zhang Changshan has a younger brother, Zhang Changyuan. He’s the apple of his eye. Find a way to make use of that. That’s the only way to truly throw him into disarray.”
“A man like him—would he really have genuine affection for his brother?”
“Everyone has a weakness. Even the most cunning and ruthless.”
Song Yuzhang tore a strip from his robe and pressed it over the blood on Fu Mian’s hand. “Just like you. You can kill anyone—but you can’t kill me.”
Fu Mian clasped his hand. “What about you? Do you have a weakness?”
A faint smile curved Song Yuzhang’s lips. He looked at Fu Mian with great gentleness. “A-Mian, I’m full of weaknesses. Fengxian is one. And so are you.”
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