NOVEL NEXT vol. 1 chapter 22 - "nothing was as it once was"
Chapter 22 – “nothing was as it once was”
The servants withdrew from the dining room. Qin Mu took a seat at the round table as Shen Liu served him a bowl of rice.
The dishes were simple and homely. Braised eggplant in soy sauce, cabbage in pumpkin broth, pork belly with mustard greens, fish ball soup with spinach leaves and a side of chopped chilli. These completely down-to-earth dishes seemed fairly discordant being served on the Hermes Carnets d’Equateur crockery.
Shen Liu didn’t seem to notice. He held a piece of meat between his chopsticks, hanging it midair, and asked, “Do I need to show some courtesy?”
“No need. I’ll do it myself.” Qin Mu said.
He nodded and placed the piece of meat in his own bowl. He lowered his head and shovelled two mouthfuls of rice, “I didn’t eat lunch. I’m so hungry I’ve shrunk a whole chest size.”
“If your personal assistant has the leisure to investigate my personal interests, then he should’ve been arranging your lunch instead.” Qin Mu said.
Shen Liu curved his lips. In four or five mouthfuls, he finished off half a bowl of rice. Then, slowing down, he flicked some chopped chilli into his bowl.
Qin Mu was a little surprised. He remembered Shen Liu used to stay away from all spicy food. His taste buds were as bland and plain as an old monk's. Even a tiny dab of Old Godmother chilli was enough to make his mouth breathe fire. Qin Mu had a heavier palette and had always accommodated Shen Liu by making his food with less oil and salt. At mealtime, he simply placed a small dish of bean paste or chilli sauce on the side for himself. Now, watching Shen Liu eat spice so naturally, it was indeed unusual.
“I eat out all the time. My tastes have changed.” Shen Liu noticed he was staring at himself. With a flick of his wrist, the small dish slid in front of Qin Mu, “Want some?”
Qin Mu didn’t refuse, asking, “You grew these as well?”
“You’ve seen my vegetable patch?” Shen Liu ate as he spoke. “Not this one. If you want extra spicy ones, I can pick a couple for you from upstairs.”
“No, it’s fine.” Qin Mu teased, “Why grow vegetables? Is the food in J City that bad? Or is it some fashion among the wealthy?”
Shen Liu glanced at him and said with a smile, “For a sense of accomplishment. In life, the things we can truly choose for ourselves are too few. Of the scant remains given to us, the two most important choices we can make are our hobbies and lovers. Growing vegetables helps a person find some relaxation. What’s more, you can watch it bloom and bear fruit, and when you eat it, you feel quite a sense of achievement.”
Qin Mu hadn’t expected him to answer so seriously, and, for a moment, didn’t know what to say.
“Do you have any other curiosities about me? I’ll answer anything you ask.”
Of the two things he had just mentioned, the question of “hobbies” had an answer; all that remained was “lovers”. Given the history they shared, Qin Mu knew better than to tread on such a delicate minefield of a topic. He quickly closed the subject, “Nothing else.”
“Then, in the spirit of reciprocity, it’s my turn to be curious.” Shen Liu curved his lips into an attractive angle, “I have heard that the famous Mr. Pharoah has many admirers, yet continually turns people away in the name of stoic restraint. Why is that?”
A straight pitch right down the middle, with no room for escape.
The chopsticks in Qin Mu’s hand came to a stop. He raised his eyes and said, “What, your spies couldn’t find out the reason?” He had always disliked having his life being intruded upon, all the more when this was a private matter.
“After all this time, still haven’t met someone to your taste?” Shen Liu advanced into the minefield and danced upon it with seeming obliviousness.
“I’m not one for being good with people. In fact, I’ve been meaning to ask you for your extensive experience.” Qin Mu said in a plain tone, “How does Director Shen treat his admirers? With careful selection or with open arms?”
He was finally angry.
A hint of a smile appeared on Shen Liu’s face.
Qin Mu had positioned him as “an old friend one hadn’t seen in years”. You could chat about the weather, politics, everyday life, but nothing further. Yet Shen Liu had insisted on stepping over those boundaries again and again.
A room that was used, a butler that was nosey, teasing that was flirtatious, dishes that were familiar, privacies that were violated… Again and again, Shen Liu tested the waters and finally angered this former lover who had journeyed from afar.
That’s right. He did it all on purpose.
Qin Mu was willing to be a familiar stranger, but Shen Liu was not. He was determined to break the stalemate, to tear off Qin Mu’s mask of polite distance, to lure him into revealing his real self. Even if it were only anger.
But even in anger, Qin Mu wasn’t about to charge around aimlessly like a raging bull. He was more like a leopard that was locked onto its prey, cutting straight into the exact sensitive spot of the conversation, drawing Shen Liu into a verbal trap.
It was the type of question that drew an inappropriate reply, no matter how you answered.
Shen Liu had a knack for handling these kinds of questions. Without changing his expression, he simply didn’t play fair, “Unfortunately, I don’t have any admirers and therefore have no experience to share.”
Qin Mu shot him a sideward glance.
“Sometimes I don’t get it either.” Shen Liu rubbed his chin with much pretence, “Money, a distinguished family, charisma, then there’s my drop-dead killer looks. How come no one throws themselves at me? Wouldn’t you say there’s something wrong with their eyes?”
Qin Mu paused for a brief moment and answered, “Don’t you think that it’s possible – your face is so shamelessly large that it’s blocking their view, they can’t see anything else about you?”
Shen Liu nodded his head in agreement, “Mainly, my face is just too irresistible. It takes up all their vision. In fact, a man like me deserves to have all his treasures studied in detail, best to use a magnifying glass to closely examine every part. It’d be a pity to overlook anything.”
Qin Mu let his gaze roam about over Shen Liu’s lower body and mocked cooly, “Need a magnifying glass to see it?”
Shen Liu also lowered his head to have a look, tasted the suggestive meaning in his words and smirked, “If you’re interested, how about we engage in some after-dinner exercise?”
Qin Mu knew nothing good would come of continuing the verbal sparring. He picked up another chopstick full of meat and focused all his energy on eating. The thinly sliced pork belly melted in the mouth with a perfect level of juiciness, coating the tongue with the aroma of mustard leaves and pork fat. Eaten with the soft, chewy white rice, it was the perfect delicacy for forgetting the nuisance of a man who sat next to him with a smug grin that begged to be punched.
Shen Liu was full. He propped his head on one hand and looked at him, “These dishes, you cook them better.”
Qin Mu ignored him. Without saying another word, he finished his meal, set his chopsticks down and was about to leave.
Shen Liu caught his arm and teased, “What’s the rush? We haven’t done our after-dinner exercise yet.” Seeing Qin Mu’s stony expression, only then did he add without a hurry, “It must be quite dull being cooped up at home. Let me take you for a spin.”
“I seem to recall a certain someone warning me this morning that it’s dangerous to go outside. And forbade me from leaving.”
“With me around, it’s much safer. Don’t be afraid.” The man shamelessly went back on his word.
The night scene of J City was as gorgeous as a shimmering jewellery box. It tempted the large beasts that hid in the dark. Their barely hidden greed and ambition stirred them as they restlessly watched and schemed against each other, attempting to take it all as their own.
Shen Liu, Qin Mu and four bodyguards got into a black executive car. A “familiar acquaintance”, the long-faced man, was also present. Once seated, long-faced man turned around and cast a glance at Qin Mu.
“Just say whatever you have to say.” Shen Liu said.
“There’s news from the other side. They’ve found out.”
“A day’s time is about right. They’re not completely useless.” Shen Liu tapped his finger on the armrest. After a moment of thinking, he said, “Get Tao Ze to arrange a setup. I’ll meet him.”
The long-faced man cautioned with a grave expression, “Old Master has already given the word. We’re not to create any complications at this time.”
“This game of chess we’ve been playing, it’s beyond saving. The only way to break the deadlock is to overturn the entire board. Since their rules have failed, we’ll play by mine.” In the light that shone from outside the car, the side of Shen Liu’s face flickered bright and dim. Each word he pronounced carried an irrefutable, imposing authority, a coldness and brutality that tolerated no dissent.
“Yes.” Long-faced man said no more.
Qin Mu’s eyes lingered on Shen Liu for a moment before turning towards the outside. Even though he had intentionally kept his distance, that feeling of intimacy and familiarity had followed him every second, like a thread that bound them together, winding ever tighter. But in another moment, a sudden feeling of strangeness would fall like a knife, cutting clean all the tangling threads, cleaving between them an invisible, intangible chasm, cruelly reminding him that nothing was as it once was.
The executive car drove straight into the underground garage of a serviced apartment complex.
The twenty-seventh floor. Room 2703.
The room was very dark. Qin Mu had an instinctive resistance to darkness and stood at the door without moving. Shen Liu gently pushed him from behind and whispered with a smile, “Don’t worry. Even if there’s a ghost, it’ll definitely come after me first.”
Qin Mu stepped inside and immediately reached for the light switch. Shen Liu caught his wrist and joked, “Let’s not get all handsy just yet. There’re others watching.” Qin Mu felt his forehead twitch and pulled back his hand. He understood that he was not to turn on the light and stopped moving.
Long-faced man pulled aside half of the curtain. Moonlight and streetlight streamed in together, and Qin Mu could start to make out some details. There wasn’t much furniture in the room. By the window stood three high-magnification telescopes, each connected to a nearby laptop.
The four of them didn’t need any instructions and moved about with practised familiarity. One had somehow dragged in two lounge chairs. Another pulled out a thermos and some cups from his bag. And another quickly made two cups of jasmine tea and placed them on the coffee table. Long-faced man was adjusting the angles of the telescopes. Then they withdrew together. Judging by the noise, they had gone to the adjacent room, 2704.
“Telescope. Monitor. Are we photographing the moon or the stars?” Qin Mu asked.
“A bit more exciting than that. Come.” Shen Liu gestured for Qin Mu to stand behind the telescope.
The telescope most likely had night-vision, the image was very clear. Through it, Qin Mu saw a window with a half-drawn curtain. Inside, there was a large white bed, and there were people on it. Under a yellow light, two bodies overlapped. One man, one woman. The man’s lower body was busy with thrusting.
Qin Mu took an abrupt step back and stared at Shen Liu. He said, “Voyeurism is illegal.”
Shen Liu smiled unconcerned, “There are those who steal books, there are also those who steal nations. Holding onto the book thief while turning a blind eye to the thief of nations is also condoning evil.”
“What do you mean?” Qin Mu frowned.
Shen Liu lifted his chin, “Keep watching.”
Qin Mu turned back to the telescope.
Behind the sheer curtains, the coupling continued. The man had changed position and was grabbing onto the woman’s hair, shoving his sex organ in her mouth. Long hair covered her face, and it was hard to see what she looked like. Her nose was tall, and it seemed she was a young woman with well-defined features. The woman seemed limp, displaying none of the usual responses of sexual activity, letting the man do as he pleased without any resistance, like…
A thought flashed across Qin Mu’s mind. Shocked, he turned his head towards Shen Liu and said, “This is… drunk rape?”
“Shh–” From behind, Shen Liu wrapped his arm around Qin Mu’s waist, half-coercing his chin up, and whispered in his ear, “Keep watching.”
Through the gap of the sheer curtain, a third figure appeared.
It was a naked man, with a protruding belly and ugly genitals.
They held her in a kneeling position, entering into her body from the front and the back. Then changed positions again, spreading her legs between the two of them and penetrated her again. They violated her, making her bend into all sorts of humiliating positions, painfully smacking her private area, and even urinated on her face.
Qin Mu could watch no longer. He broke free of Shen Liu and reached for his phone to call the police.
Shen Liu, however, took the chance to grab his arm and pinned him against the wall, using his body to block him, “Stay out of it.”
Qin Mu glared at him in disbelief, “You want me to just stand by and watch her get….”
“What, feeling uncomfortable?” Shen Liu cut him off, his expression indifferent, “Didn’t you want me to stand by and watch you walk to your death before?”
“… They are two different things.” Qin Mu frowned, “If we call the police now, we can at least catch the two scumbags.”
“No one will get caught.” Moonlight reflected in Shen Liu’s eyes, shining a clear, cold light.
The crease between Qin Mu’s eyebrows deepened.
Shen Liu released his grip and leaned lazily against the window. His tone apathetic, “A young woman arrives with the dream of becoming rich and famous overnight, only to find that the entertainment industry is full of people prettier than her, harder working than her, more talented than her. She simply isn’t good enough. Not even in her own group is she considered outstanding. She is terrified of the cutthroat winner-takes-all reality, afraid she’ll remain an anonymous nobody. Believing herself clever, she chose a ‘shortcut’ and crawled onto Zhao Jinchuan’s bed. She got what she wanted, and of course, must pay a price. Using her body to entertain Zhao Jinchuan’s guests is one of them.” He paused for a moment and looked toward Qin Mu, “These guests hold great power in their hands and can open doors of convenience for Zhao Jinchuan. Yet the moment they take the bait of sex and money, they have effectively handed him leverage over them, leaving them no choice but to do everything at his bidding. And so the chain has formed a perfect closed loop. Every component secured firmly by the grip of self-interest, impenetrable, unbreakable. You cannot save someone who is unwilling to be saved. The only thing calling the police will do ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) is alert them to our presence.” The man raised his hand, “If you still insist, then do it.”
The agitation and anger on Qin Mu’s face gradually changed to dejection and pain. He stood silently for a moment, then finally lowered his arm and put his phone back in his pocket.
For a while, the two stood in silence in the dark room. Shen Liu spoke first, “Don’t you want to know who the two guests were?” He lifted his chin toward another telescope, “They’re about to come out.”
Feeling a little lost, Qin Mu returned to the telescope.
Now dressed, the two looked dignified and respectable, as if completely different from the lustful beasts of before.
The moment he could see their faces clearly, a chill shot from his heels up his spine, freezing his whole body.
“Now you know why the case is unwinnable.” Shen Liu’s voice was deep, chilling, like the night wind that made one shudder.