Submission IV: A Love that Circled Back [BL]

Chapter 8 – “Just a stranger I once knew. That’s all.”
They didn’t seem in a hurry to make any arrests. Two of them took a glance out the back door, and the rest surrounded Qin Mu. Noticing Qin Mu’s wariness, the tall, long-faced man who had helped him up volunteered to say: “We are Dai Gang’s friends.”
Dai Gang was Gang Zi’s full name.
So they were Chu Yu’s men.
For the moment, Qin Mu felt a little reassured and followed them out. He caught sight of one of them holding a flashing red-and-blue police siren, and his mind raced through articles within Criminal Law, Police Law, Public Security Administration Punishment Law and Road Traffic Safety Law, instinctively beginning to consider arguments that could defend their actions in court based on the Good Samaritan principle.
Fortunately, he wasn’t so stuck in his professional habits as to be irredeemable. After a few seconds, his trail of thoughts returned upon ordinary tracks - the bald man from before wasn’t a pushover, the moment he realised the people who rescued him were not police, he was highly likely to cause more problems. Still feeling uneasy, he asked: “Where’s Gang Zi?”
Gang Zi was Chu Yu’s personally appointed bodyguard. He should’ve been the first person on scene to find Qin Mu. He shouldn’t be choosing to stay behind the scenes and wait for news. Besides, these people…
Qin Mu glanced to one side. The long-faced man seemed to catch his gaze with exceptional sensitivity and immediately turned to face him. Of the other five men, who were all dressed in black, two walked in front, one to the side, and the last two covered the rear. Without drawing attention to it, they formed a defensive circle. They didn’t speak to each other, yet seemed to communicate via glances and looks. They acted with such disciplined precision, it was as if…
“Is he waiting for me at the Marriott?” Qin Mu asked another question, intentionally giving the wrong hotel name.
The long-faced man gave an unassuming “yes”.
A chill coursed through Qin Mu, his hairs standing on end.
These were not Chu Yu’s men.
As soon as the gaze in Qin Mu’s eyes changed, the man detected it, and the mood between them grew tense.
The long-faced man stopped before a black GL8: “Mr Qin, please get in.” He was expressionless, but his attitude seemed polite enough. Qin Mu hesitated for a moment and then got in. He was put in the back seat and then, like ham in a sandwich, two men flanked him on both sides. He let out a small, wearied smile.
The door shut with a click. The long-faced man passed a bottle of mineral water to him: “We are taking you to a safe location and will then inform Dai Gang to join us. We will need to change cars in the middle, please give us your cooperation.”
Qin Mu took the bottle but didn’t drink and asked, “Can I borrow your phone?”
“Apologies.” The long-faced man refused bluntly but offered reassurance, “We have no hostility toward you and will not harm you. Please rest assured.”

Qin Mu forced a smile: “Sure.”
He was not a rash sort of man. Years of setbacks and struggles had shaped a temperament that told him to only act after careful deliberation. Right now, their purpose was unknown, their identity was unknown, the outcome was unknown, all thinking and planning was futile. He was outnumbered with no other means of escape; all he could do was step on the watermelon peel and let it slide him in whatever direction it went, even if it led him to the very gates of hell, he could do nothing but accept it. As it is said, roll with the punches, que sera, sera; in the end, it was nothing more than a life - if someone wanted it, they could take it.
Thinking thus, he felt more at peace. He might as well lean back, close his eyes and rest, but a question drifted through his mind – if he were to die right then and there, did he have any regrets?
He had close friends he could confide in, enough money for a comfortable life, a profession he enjoyed, tasted plenty of good food, travelled to many places, even petted cats; there didn’t seem much to regret. If he were forced to answer, it would be, perhaps, that he was lacking a partner in love.
The thing about true love, though, was that it was like finding a ghost on a night walk, the stories told were full of life and promise, but how many people had actually found one? In his youth, through sheer blind luck, he did find one, yet it ended in unutterable bitterness. Tasting it again in this moment, all that remained was a vast emptiness of sorrow. Perhaps he had used up all his luck in love, as nothing ever came his way again. As it is said, it may find you, but you may not find it, where there is a beginning, there may not be an end – thinking this way, perhaps it wasn’t much of a regret after all.
As Qin Mu was trying to make peace with himself, the car stopped at a secluded auto repair shop along the outskirts of the city. The long-faced man led Qin Mu and two other men in black into a Mercedes. The rest remained in the GL8 and left.
The two cars drove off in different directions. Theirs looped around the city outskirts, winding through streets and alleyways and even changed license plates halfway, before finally driving into a scene of bustling affluence. Judging from the cloud-piercing landmark that soared before him, Qin Mu concluded they had entered the famed Dongping District.
J City was one of the foremost megacities of the country, and Dongping District had the highest land value of all J City, gathered here were the true elite of the upper class. This minority, who stood at the very top of the pyramid, looked down upon the throng of ordinary multitudes, and with the wave of a hand, changed the futures of many.
Due to personal reasons, Qin Mu had little affection for this city. He could count the times he had visited upon one hand, and he never stayed longer than business required. This was the first time he had set foot into this realm where every inch was measured in weight of gold, or perhaps, diamonds. Outside the car windows, the dark gloom of the night was transfigured by the dazzling lights into a kaleidoscope of iridescent mist, like strange breath exhaled by mischievous spirits, enchanting and bewitching passersby. Qin Mu stretched his back, which was stiff from sitting, and asked: “How much further?”
The long-faced man replied: “Soon.”
Qin Mu didn’t bother to ask again. He was dead tired. Having gone through all the turmoil of the night, all he wanted to do was lie down and get some proper sleep, even under a bridge would do.
The car followed the bend along Mirror Lake for a while and then turned onto a side road. A smoothly paved road wound up the hillside, lined with neatly spaced freestanding path lights. On a bend, the car lights flashed across a sign saying “Private property. No Entry.” After passing without obstruction through two electronic checkpoints, they were finally greeted by the sight of a building bathed in light, like a host of stars paying homage to the moon.
There was an enormous courtyard, and the four-story main building was flanked on either side by two-story annexes. The car drove straight into the basement, where a row of flamboyant sports cars was neatly parked.
Someone was already waiting. After he opened the car door for Qin Mu, he gave Qin Mu a quick probing look and then turned to say to the long-faced man: “You can head back now.”
The long-faced man said nothing, nodded his head as reply, returned to the car and drove off.
The man smiled at Qin Mu, saying, “Mr Qin, please follow me.”
Knowing he was now close to the riddle’s answer, Qin Mu didn’t ask anything and followed him into the lift. Arriving on the third floor, the man gestured a “please”, waited for Qin Mu to step out before quickly closing the doors again and descended.
Qin Mu was left by himself.
He was in a reception hall, two-stories high, lavishly decorated in a European style, where a huge, curved balcony loomed overhead. The chandelier hanging from the ceiling was made from a galaxy of glittering crystals and scattered light like sparkling snow. There were two walls of bookshelves stacked full with books, practically a small library. The myriad hues of the book spines lent a unique beauty to the room. By the full-length windows was planted a tree of unknown species, its branches were blooming with clusters of delicate pink and white flowers.
In the middle of the room, someone was sitting on the sofa. Upon noticing the sounds, he shut the book in his hands and slowly stood up.
His chestnut hair was a little long and was pulled back into an unruly ponytail. He was tall and well-built. His dark-coloured dressing gown was casually knotted at his waist. When he turned around, the loose neckline that hung low revealed the firm and defined muscles of his chest, drawing the eye of any onlooker.
The moment Qin Mu could clearly see his face, in an instant, his breath and heart skipped a beat.
Outside, the night was cold; inside, the lights were shining warmly. In that play of light and shadow, that face seemed to coincide with innumerable fragments of his memory, shifting between reality and illusion. He stood there, reeling. It took him a long moment before he could hold back the stinging gathered at the corner of his eyes.
On a day like today, I met an old friend, not knowing whether to smile or cry.
The man he thought he would never meet again in this life had appeared, without warning, at a moment when he was most dishevelled.
Such turmoil of feelings he had not felt in an age, and now they came rolling and surging towards him like a flood, slamming upon his usually composed heart; he was utterly drenched. Such feelings were so long lost as to become strange, like a cup of coffee mixed with herbal medicine, from his throat to his heart was such strange bitterness. Thankfully, his brain was still turning with professional habit, desperately salvaging from the crashing waves the shattered shards of his reason, trying to find an “appropriate” plan of action.
The days I once lived lie beyond hills and valleys,
The man I once loved has turned to dust.
They had long been weathered by the currents of time, shedding layers of former tenderness, tempering instead hardened shells of worldliness and cold unyieldingness. That former state of mind they once possessed was long gone, leaving behind only a whisper of a desire they deliberately ignored. Like a small flicker of flame, hidden deep in the heart where neither rain nor wind could reach, in the passage of time, eventually forgotten.
Just a stranger I once knew. That’s all.
Qin Mu said to himself in his heart.
And then said it again.
He thought he was prepared, but ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) just as he was about to speak, he heard the other man’s voice.
“Qin Mu.”
A clean and clear voice, like a gust of mountain wind that comes without warning, bringing with it echoes of a long past, blew off into the distance the hat he wore upon his head that was called “stoic composure” and exposed in him a brief moment of helpless fragility. Qin Mu forced himself to quickly shake off the tense state he was in, pushed out of habit the glasses that had been cracked from being stepped on, and said in a measured tone: “I didn’t think it would be you. Many thanks.”
Within each polite diplomatic word was contained an unmistakable sense of distance. 
The gaze that was fixed on Qin Mu stirred slightly, his expression carrying a hint of “as I thought”, as if it were all as he had expected. “Are you injured? Come here, let me have a look.”
Qin Mu remained where he was and didn’t move. “Small scratches. Nothing serious.” He said, “Can you lend me your phone, I need to contact a friend.”
He wanted to steer clear of this uncomfortable predicament, seeming almost a little desperate.
“Of course.” The man hinted a smile, picked up his phone from the coffee table, lifted his hand to offer it to him, but didn’t move.
Qin Mu had no choice but to walk over. As his fingers were about to touch the phone, the man flicked his wrist back and instead tucked the phone into the pocket of his dressing gown.
It was clearly intentional.