Chapter 43: Absolute Silence

In absolute silence, every sense is magnified.

The soft click of the mahogany door biting into its lock sounded like a whistle announcing the hunt.

Xu Zhou’s back pressed against the cold edge of the black walnut nightstand. He could even hear the faint beat of his own heart in his chest.

But soon, another pressure closed in and swallowed his breath whole.

The cold fir scent was too strong, like pine needle sap seeping from deep ice and snow. It carried a near-brutal aggression that wrapped around him from all sides.

“Click.”

It was the tiny sound of Gu Yanli pulling off his other silk glove and tossing it onto the wooden counter.

A second later, that hand, its knuckles faintly tense from restraint, closed around the cool white neck exposed above Xu Zhou’s oversized hoodie collar.

The man’s palm was astonishingly hot. Against Xu Zhou’s cool skin, it drew a small, instinctive shiver from the boy.

“Senior.”

Xu Zhou did not struggle. He even slowed his breathing to match.

In the dark, any violent resistance would only provoke a more savage desire to control.

As a worker, his instinct for self-preservation had trained him to make the least exhausting and most personally advantageous calculation in the most dangerous situations.

He tilted his head up slightly. His loose black hair brushed messily against the man’s hard chest.

He turned his face, its outline blurred by darkness, tiredly into Gu Yanli’s rough palm.

It was a misleadingly passive pose, as if he were only leaning on the hunter because he could not stand steady.

“It’s too dark in here. I can’t see.”

The boy’s voice was soft, carrying just the right amount of obedience and exhaustion.

He made no extra movements. He only let gravity pull him slightly against the wooden edge behind him, easing the strength from his calves.

Gu Yanli’s fingertips slowly tightened along the edge of the blue hoodie’s far-too-large collar.

That neck was slender, almost thin, giving off a cool, jade-like warmth under the cold gray moonlight.

“Did you have fun at the Royal Meadow this afternoon?”

Gu Yanli bent down slightly. His voice was low and hoarse, with a lingering chill.

He was almost breathing against Xu Zhou’s ear. The fir scent and the cramped pressure pressed down with him:

“Mateo’s black horse is good to ride. The top floor of Arden Hall is good to sleep in. Xu Zhou, you got into his car in front of the whole school, and now you’re wearing his clothes and sleeping on his territory. When you chose him as your shield, what was going through your head?”

It was almost an interrogation, carrying possessiveness held in check and a weight he could not name.

Xu Zhou let his fingers wander over his sensitive collarbone.

He lowered his lashes slightly, felt the small noise of the metal chain on his ankle as he moved, and suddenly laughed softly.

The laugh was very light, even a little slow and lazy.

“Senior, didn’t you sign this room over to me yourself?”

Xu Zhou turned his head slightly. His clear peach-blossom eyes met Gu Yanli’s cold gaze in the dark:

“The one who personally signed the approval was Gu Yanli, chairman of the Discipline Committee. What’s wrong? When you signed, didn’t you think I’d use your special approval to hide from you?”

He used the calmest, most rational tone to puncture the tacit understanding between them.

“You signed, and you put me in Mateo’s territory. Because you knew only this place could legitimately block other people’s eyes. And I went along with it, because only this place lets me legitimately avoid unnecessary trouble. We were both weighing costs and benefits, Senior. What are you questioning me for now?”

Gu Yanli’s breath sank sharply.

The boy’s accusation was calm to the point of cold-bloodedness, yet every word struck true.

Gu Yanli knew, of course, what his own motive had been when he signed.

He wanted to use Mateo’s diplomatic territory to block the prying eyes that seeped in everywhere.

But he had not counted on Xu Zhou using this safe house so thoroughly. Along with Mateo himself, it had all become a tool for the boy to avoid him.

“You really are clever, junior.”

Gu Yanli’s fingers tightened punishingly at Xu Zhou’s collarbone, leaving an ambiguous red mark. His voice was hoarse beyond recognition:

“But the key I gave you was not for making deals with other people.”

Gu Yanli bent down slowly, his nose almost touching Xu Zhou’s. The fir scent forced its way into the boy’s breath.

“And no matter how useful a shield is, the one holding it can’t keep up the act forever. Do you think Mateo is some good person? When his true face is exposed, what will you do?”

Xu Zhou’s gaze met his. His voice remained slow and mild:

“Then I’ll weigh my options again.”

Extremely rational, and extremely cold-blooded.

Gu Yanli let out a low laugh. In it was a compromise he himself did not notice.

He bent down, his hand sliding lower, and precisely caught Xu Zhou’s ankle.

When his fingertips touched the slick ointment with its faint cool mint scent, Gu Yanli’s fingers paused imperceptibly.

“It seems your shields are not limited to Mateo.”

Gu Yanli’s voice deepened. His long fingers passed through the metal chain, and his fingertip pressed punishingly against the skin reddened by the chain. He watched Xu Zhou frown slightly from the small sting.

“This key.”

Gu Yanli picked up the pure silver key that had slipped to the floor, but he did not take it back. Instead, he pushed it with his fingertip into Xu Zhou’s hoodie pocket.

“For you. But the initiative is mine. Next Monday, I expect to see you at the Discipline Committee.”

After that, he put his black silk gloves back on and did not linger.

“Click.”

The door closed without a sound, and the guest bedroom fell silent again.

A few seconds later, the smart panel on the top floor of the residence beeped and lit up with a faint red light. The backup power had come on.

Xu Zhou fished the cold pure silver key from his large pocket and flicked it lightly with his fingernail. It gave a tiny, crisp sound.

The result of weighing costs and benefits was that Mateo’s shield was hard enough, but Gu Yanli’s concession had also achieved his goal.

Before he could put the key away, the guest bedroom door was thrown open with a bang.

“Xu Zhou!”

Mateo stood in the doorway.

His red hair was still striking under the hallway light. Though he carried a backup searchlight, his expression was not the usual loud irritation. Instead, it held a rare weight.

“The power’s out. Something went wrong with the security system. You weren’t hurt, were you?”

Mateo walked in and dimmed the flashlight so it would not shine in Xu Zhou’s eyes.

He strode to the bed and looked down at the boy wrapped in the big blue sweater.

When he saw Xu Zhou sitting there unharmed, the Gulf crown prince quietly let out a breath.

But a moment later, his sharp sense of smell and instinct caught the faint yet unmistakable cold fir scent lingering in the air.

It was Gu Yanli’s scent.

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