After much effort and asking around, Wu Suowei finally found Jiang Xiaoshuai.
In the Chinese restaurant at Guo Chengyu’s private club, the two of them ate and chatted, which helped ease a lot of the tension.
“You’ve been staying here this whole time?” Wu Suowei asked.
Jiang Xiaoshuai sighed helplessly. “Where else could I go if not here? Should I go outside and wait for your man to hack me into pieces?”
“I’m already with him, he probably wouldn’t do anything to you, right?”
“Who knows?” Jiang Xiaoshuai stirred the soup in his bowl with a spoon. “Guo Chengyu is a real bastard! If it weren’t for that troublemaker, I wouldn’t still be stuck in this damn mess.”
——-
Wu Suowei didn’t bother arguing with him and went straight to the point: “How did Guozi screw you over?”
“If he hadn’t hidden from you that he was with Chi Cheng, would I have been holed up like this? Would I have gone back to the clinic in the middle of the night and caught you two doing that? Would I have come back, pounded on his bedroom door, and then…” Jiang Xiaoshuai trailed off, unable to finish.
Wu frowned, baffled. “You’re usually so sharp—how’d you let Guozi play you like that? You just believed whatever he said? Why didn’t you turn on your phone and call me? If you’d talked to me earlier, would this whole mess even have happened?”
Jiang replied weakly, “Chi Cheng gave me five days to ‘settle’ you. I had no choice but to scheme against you. Then you two didn’t work out, the whole thing blew up—how could I dare contact you after that?”
“Chi Cheng told you to settle me in five days?” Wu repeated his words, one syllable at a time.
The room fell into dead silence.
After a few minutes, Jiang plucked up the courage to ask, “So… you mean you didn’t know?”
Wu’s face darkened. “Who told you I knew?”
Jiang’s features twisted painfully. Who told me? Who else but that sly, vicious, lying Guo Chengyu?
He must’ve already guessed I’d end up having this talk with Wu Suowei, guessed I’d slip and spill everything, sparking all kinds of misunderstandings. In the end I’d be isolated, desperate, and left with no choice but to throw myself entirely into his hands.
Actually, Guo Chengyu had already hinted at all this that day in the car—it was just that his “disciple’s” reflex arc was so long, it didn’t reach his brain until he’d blurted everything out himself.
——
At that moment, Jiang Xiaoshuai suddenly blurted out from the side: “Da-Wei, that night after I left the clinic, I went back to Guozi’s place… and then… I spent the night in his room.”
Wu Suowei shot upright from the sofa, eyes wide as saucers.
“You two… did it?”
Jiang took a deep breath, his face conflicted.
“I don’t even know if we did. I was all dazed at the time and just fell asleep. When I woke up, it was already morning.”
With his vast experience, Wu declared authoritatively: “Even if you don’t remember, you’d feel it afterward! Didn’t that… area… feel especially uncomfortable?”
Jiang mumbled, “I kinda felt something, but it wasn’t obvious. Maybe just in my head. Hey, it’s been two years since I’ve done that kind of thing—I’ve already forgotten what it feels like.”
“Over two years?” Wu blinked, stunned. “How could you stand it?”
Jiang unexpectedly chuckled.
“You didn’t do it for the first twenty-something years of your life—how did you stand it?”
That shut Wu up so hard his face turned green.
Then Jiang added, “Honestly, I’ve always thought Guozi doesn’t really like me.”
Wu tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“How much more does he have to like you? He hurts himself just to have an excuse to see you at the clinic. Whatever you want, he gives you; whatever you don’t want, he insists on giving anyway. Remember when you asked for those snakes? He packed them up for you without a word. You think someone like him didn’t realize I’d set that trap when he went to grab the snakes? Yet he still led his guys to help without hesitation. When I got hurt, he could’ve taken the snakes then, but instead he sent me to the hospital first. Think about it—he can even put revenge aside for you. What more do you want?”
But Jiang’s thoughts were completely different.
“The reason he cozies up to me is to get Chi Cheng’s attention and keep fighting him. The reason he gave me the snakes so readily was because he knew they were going to be exchanged for Chi Cheng’s treasure. He knew you’d set him up but still went with his guys because he wanted to help anyway. And he sent you to the hospital only because he was afraid someone would worry. That someone… wasn’t me.”
Wu couldn’t help but cut in. “What are you trying to say?”
Jiang sneered coldly. “Don’t you think… he actually likes Chi Cheng?”
A thunderclap exploded over Wu’s head, making his scalp tingle.
“Bro, don’t joke about stuff like that, okay?”
Jiang’s face didn’t change.
“Let me just say one thing. Think about it: the snakes I asked him for that time were all rare species—and Guo Chengyu had all of them. Not only did he have them, but they looked almost exactly like the ones at Chi Cheng’s.”
Wu froze, unable to say a word.
Jiang continued, “Think about it. Someone who remembers every single snake in another man’s park clearly, who goes to all that trouble to collect them himself—and it all happened after Chi Cheng’s snakes were lost. Tell me: wasn’t his snake park built as a backup just for Chi Cheng? Weren’t those snakes destined to be sacrificed from the start?”
The more Wu listened, the more unnerved he became, and he hurried to cut Jiang off.
“If you put it that way, he knew from the day he built the park that those snakes were hidden on the military base, and he predicted Chi Cheng would play this move? That’d make him too calculating!”
“What do you think?”
Wu: “…”
121
The two of them were silent for a long time before Wu Suowei spoke again.
“So according to you, you were just a tool used by Guo Chengyu to lure Chi Cheng. Since Chi Cheng already has me now and said he wouldn’t go after his lover anymore, you’re of no use anymore, and he should have dumped you right away! But look at him now — not only has he not dumped you, but he’s trying every way to keep you. How do you explain that?”
Jiang Xiaoshuai was stunned by Wu Suowei’s sharp question. Thinking carefully, it really didn’t make much sense.
“Maybe he thinks the reason Chi Cheng hasn’t harassed me is because I’m not actually with him. Once I officially get together with him, maybe Chi Cheng still won’t be able to let go.”
Wu Suowei let out a meaningful snort from his nose. “You mean, once Guo Chengyu reels you in, Chi Cheng will come back and mess with you again?”
Jiang Xiaoshuai gave a sly grin. “You’re getting nervous, huh? Nervous!”
“Who’s nervous?” Wu Suowei’s face was cold. “You’d better get Guozi to intensify the conflict, drive Chi Cheng away from me — then my ass can finally see springtime!”
Jiang Xiaoshuai burst out laughing but then calmed down and thought for a moment. “Hey, Dawei, don’t you feel like there’s something off about the three of you?”
Wu Suowei’s face became serious. “What do you mean, off?”
“Think about it. Those two started falling out over Wang Shuo’s matter, and it’s been what — seven years now? But have you ever heard either of them say they’ve gone to see Wang Shuo in all these years? No, right? If Chi Cheng didn’t go because he hates what Wang Shuo did, then why didn’t Guo Chengyu go?”
Hearing this, Wu Suowei also became a bit puzzled. “Yeah. If Guo Chengyu really wanted to get back at Chi Cheng, the best way would be to keep seeing Wang Shuo.”
Jiang Xiaoshuai smacked the table hard. “Exactly! That’s the issue! Normally, given how close Guo Chengyu and Chi Cheng were, stealing Chi Cheng’s man should’ve made him feel guilty — not calculating against Chi Cheng over and over. If he really were that kind of heartless bastard, deliberately going against Chi Cheng, then why didn’t he just stay with Wang Shuo openly?”
Wu Suowei furrowed his brow, eyes lowering slightly. “Guo Chengyu really is a contradictory guy. If you say he’s ruthless, well, when Chi Cheng was catching snakes, he did help out. But if you say he’s kind, then it was him who secretly sabotaged that batch of snakes in the first place. What the hell is he up to?”
As he spoke, Wu Suowei’s eyes suddenly lit up. He grabbed Jiang Xiaoshuai’s hand. “I just remembered something — that day in the car, Guo Chengyu said to me, ‘I’ve never slept with Wang Shuo.'”
Jiang Xiaoshuai slapped his thigh. “That’s it!”
“That’s it?” Wu Suowei was confused.
Jiang Xiaoshuai squinted like some half-immortal and slowly explained: “The truth is already clear — Guo Chengyu likes Chi Cheng! He never slept with Wang Shuo to begin with. He made up this misunderstanding just to make Chi Cheng give up on Wang Shuo. Then he used Wang Shuo as a rope to tie Chi Cheng to him for years, keeping them tangled up.”
“That’s quite a big loop, isn’t it?” Wu Suowei wiped the sweat off his forehead. “If he really liked Chi Cheng, why wouldn’t he just tell him outright? Why use this sneaky trick to ruin their relationship?”
“That’s where you don’t get it.” Jiang Xiaoshuai spoke righteously. “Some people go at it head-on, others go at it sideways. Love is complicated — sometimes, when someone is good to you, you don’t necessarily like them. But if they suddenly do something to hurt you, you can’t stop thinking about them.”
Wu Suowei disagreed. “When Yue Yue treated me decently at first, I really liked her. But later when she acted like that, I started to resent her more and more.”
Jiang Xiaoshuai replied faintly, “You think everyone’s brain is as straightforward as yours?”
Wu Suowei paused, a little annoyed. “I just feel like what you’re saying makes sense, but applying it to them still feels a bit forced. Guo Chengyu’s such a cool guy — you think he’d fall for someone even tougher than him?”
“That’s exactly when sparks fly — two tough guys butting heads! Look at them — one’s like a king cobra, the other like a python — when they’re tangled up, it’s powerful!”
“I don’t see it.” Wu Suowei’s face darkened. “If those two are tangled up, one of them’s gonna die.”
Jiang Xiaoshuai chuckled. “You can’t even imagine what’s still to come.”
Wu Suowei waited for him to continue his chatter.
“Think about it — it’s one thing for Guo Chengyu not to go after Wang Shuo, but why didn’t Chi Cheng make a move either? Also, back when Guo Chengyu and Wang Shuo supposedly did something behind Chi Cheng’s back, who told him? Or did he see it himself? Why did he believe it without question? If he was just blinded by anger at the time, then all these years later, calm and rational, why hasn’t he reconsidered?”
Wu Suowei sighed. “Maybe he sees it as a shameful scar he doesn’t want to dig back up.”
“Let’s say you’re right,” Jiang Xiaoshuai went on,
“Then why has Chi Cheng only gone after Guo Chengyu, but never touched Wang Shuo?”
Wu Suowei answered blandly, “Maybe he couldn’t bear to.”
“Does he seem like that kind of person to you?”
That made Wu Suowei suddenly recall the things Chi Cheng had once confessed to him.
“If he dares show his face in front of me, I’ll f** him till he can’t breathe anymore!”*
Jiang Xiaoshuai continued animatedly: “The two of them keep talking about Wang Shuo this, Wang Shuo that — but is this person really that important? To me, he’s just a blurry shadow — or rather, the rope Guo Chengyu uses to tie Chi Cheng down. On the surface it looks like Chi Cheng is always scheming against him, but in reality it’s Guo Chengyu who’s been pulling the strings all along, handing his own kept boy over to Chi Cheng’s bed.”
“Why would he do that?” Wu Suowei asked.
Jiang Xiaoshuai sneered.“Simple — because he can only trust a man he sends himself! All these years, other than Guo Chengyu’s boytoy, Chi Cheng hasn’t had another boyfriend, right? Well — except you, of course.”
Wu Suowei still couldn’t nod in agreement. “Everything you’re saying is from Guo Chengyu’s perspective, but you’re forgetting the objective fact of Chi Cheng — he’s not that stupid, right? If Guo Chengyu really had those intentions, Chi Cheng wouldn’t have noticed nothing, would he?”
Jiang Xiaoshuai’s eyes gleamed. “That’s the biggest highlight of today’s gossip!”
Wu Suowei had an ominous feeling.
Jiang Xiaoshuai leaned in close and whispered: “Actually, Chi Cheng knows full well.”
Wu Suowei’s heart skipped a beat.
“Think about it — that day when they were fighting over the snakes, the two of them tangled up. In terms of strength and skill, Guo Chengyu was a bit inferior, but they still ended up in a draw. While you were busy moving snakes, you didn’t notice a detail: Chi Cheng had already gained the upper hand, his fist was at Guo Chengyu’s face… and yet he didn’t land the punch.”
Wu Suowei’s temples throbbed. “What are you trying to say?”
Jiang Xiaoshuai took a deliberate step, stood in the center of the room, and declared clearly:
“Actually, Chi Cheng also likes Guo Chengyu.”
That bombshell nearly blew Wu Suowei’s brains out.
Jiang Xiaoshuai spoke with certainty. “I said earlier, Guo Chengyu is just using a rope to tie Chi Cheng down — and Chi Cheng knows it perfectly well, but he’s playing hard to get. All these years, he’s hurt innocent people under the guise of avenging himself on Guo Chengyu, but the two of them have stayed completely unharmed.”
Wu Suowei made one last objection. “If that’s true, then why aren’t they together? Why use this method?”
Jiang Xiaoshuai shrugged. “They can’t be together! There’s still Wang Shuo in the middle! What kind of men are they? Iron-boned tough guys — how could they publicly do something like that? The only way was to use Wang Shuo as a link — fighting on the surface while secretly entangled.”
Wu Suowei was left completely speechless. “So basically, I’m just in the way, huh?”
Jiang Xiaoshuai snorted with a laugh. “When you go back, you can test Chi Cheng — just say I slept with Guozi and see how he reacts.”
“No need to test.” Wu Suowei pretended to act magnanimous, picking at his nose.
“Hell, let’s just play matchmaker and put them together already — what a loving pair.”
Jiang Xiaoshuai’s eyes lit up. “Alright! Let’s do it right now, come on, let’s think up a practical plan.”
Wu Suowei almost poked through his own nostril.
Seeing Wu Suowei’s embarrassed face, Jiang Xiaoshuai stopped teasing him. “Alright, alright, I’m just saying — you just listen. Take it as a joke. How things really are, how could we outsiders possibly know for sure?”
Wu Suowei fumed silently. Damn it! You sounded pretty damn sure to me!