Chapter 70

Chapter 70

Ning Qiuyan began to enjoy going to the Black House.

During the last few weeks before winter break, he went there every two or three days. When Rong Qi asked where he was going, he simply said it was Guan Heng’s residence in Sujing and that he occasionally stayed the night because the weather was too cold. However, Rong Qi had been constantly out with Peng Kaile lately, doing nothing but playing video games, board games, or going to escape rooms, so he didn’t have much time to pay attention to Ning Qiuyan’s whereabouts.

The house was still barely furnished; the only piece of furniture was the bed.

Sometimes Ning Qiuyan would buy fresh flowers and bring them over, but he would just put them in a vase and set it randomly on the floor. Following Guan Heng’s example, he wore his most comfortable clothes and walked around the house barefoot, fully enjoying the unconstrained freedom of solitude.

Late one night, it started raining in Sujing again. Outside the window, the rain was a misty drizzle against the blurred city lights. Inside, the tones were dim and somber, the flames in the fireplace dancing quietly.

Ning Qiuyan fell asleep by the fireplace. When he woke up to this scene, he recorded a short video and sent it to Guan Heng.

A few minutes later, Guan Heng sent a video back to him.

It was night on Du Island.

In the video, the quiet Forest and the snowy ground were shrouded in bright, clear moonlight. A fluffy fox was hunting its prey; it crouched low, then suddenly pounced like a forest sprite, quickly vanishing into the depths of the trees.

It was midnight, and Guan Heng was out in the Forest. Ning Qiuyan immediately guessed what he was doing.

Guan Heng was also hunting. It was winter now, and although the animals weren’t as active as they were in spring or summer, it was still a way to pass the time and find a bit of meager amusement.

Ning Qiuyan just didn’t know if Guan Heng’s prey was the same as the fox’s, or if the fox itself was the target.

They were in two different worlds, living completely different lives, yet they were interacting at this moment.

The image of Guan Heng with blood on his lips immediately surfaced in Ning Qiuyan’s mind-the two snow-white fangs faintly visible beneath that elegant lip line, and the irrepressible red deep within his eyes.

A lonely island in the grey winter sea, covered in white snow and lush mountains.

The moonlight rippled like waves.

Guan Heng was alone, walking soundlessly through it all, passing through the fir forests and over the mossy ground. He hunted and fed just as he had for thousands of years, bathed in moonlight and drenched in blood, enjoying his freedom before sunrise.

Separation made Guan Heng feel unreachable once again.

Ning Qiuyan couldn’t wait to return to Du Island, marking a red line through every passing day on his calendar.

Unfortunately, on the penultimate afternoon before winter break officially began, he received a call from his senior. The senior said the client was very satisfied and intended to use his work as the theme song for an exclusive perfume line. This involved more terms and copyright issues, and of course, more revisions. They required the work to be more complete, meaning he would need to stay in Sujing for a few more days.

“Can we communicate by phone, text, or email?” Ning Qiuyan asked. “If we need a meeting, as long as the time is set, I should be able to join a video conference whenever.”

“The other party said they want to have an in-person meeting with you to finalize the contract and everything. Their company is based in Sujing anyway, it just takes time to arrange,” the senior said. “The later details can be handled online, but for the initial contract signing, it’s better to talk face-to-face.”

Ning Qiuyan hesitated. “But…”

“The pay will be much higher. Do you know who’s behind this brand?” The senior mysteriously named a luxury brand. “It’s an experimental product line started by the head of the house. So many people would kill for this opportunity; you’ve hit the jackpot.”

Regarding this deeper copyright deal, the senior’s studio wouldn’t take a cut. He was only being this persistent for Ning Qiuyan’s own good.

As he spoke, the senior became puzzled. “And besides, what could a college student like you possibly be so busy with? What’s so important that you can’t even wait a few days?”

Ning Qiuyan had already bought his sleeper train ticket in advance and had told Guan Heng when he would be back.

He definitely needed to earn money, and composing wasn’t as grueling as being a caregiver. But aside from buying things related to his major, Ning Qiuyan didn’t want luxury goods, nor was he a tech enthusiast; his material desires were actually very low.

To be honest, he also felt that such an opportunity was rare. He had just written and revised something on a whim, which his senior happened to submit for selection, and it happened to be chosen. It really was like hitting the jackpot.

While he was hesitating over what to do, Guan Heng naturally made the decision for him.

“Stay and work,” Guan Heng said. “Don’t even think about suggesting a video conference for a first-time collaboration. Stay in Sujing until your business is finished.”

Ning Qiuyan walked along, kicking a small pebble by the roadside.

He wouldn’t refuse Guan Heng’s request.

But he missed Guan Heng too much.

He missed him so much he wished he could grow wings; even his bones ached with the longing.

Keeping his voice low, he expressed his heartache for the first time. “I miss you very much.”

He forgot to use formal honorifics.

On the other end of the line, Guan Heng didn’t speak for several seconds.

Ning Qiuyan stared at the dry branches of a tree by the road, unconsciously picking at the parched bark with his fingers.

“I want your life to be brilliant.”

Guan Heng said those words again, supplementing what he had said last time.

“Brilliance isn’t achieved overnight. It’s accumulated through many small fragments. Whether it’s your relationships, your knowledge, your hobbies, or your experiences-they all add up bit by bit to form who you are.”

Ning Qiuyan stopped his hand, letting the poor tree be. His eyes felt a bit hot. “I know.”

“You belong to me, Ning Qiuyan,” Guan Heng said. “Rather than restricting your freedom, what I want to do more is shape you-to let you become a better version of yourself.”

After hanging up, Ning Qiuyan stood by the roadside for about ten minutes.

Shaping someone was undoubtedly a form of control, but this kind made him feel the control more vividly. It was no longer ethereal; it gave him a sense of intimate pleasure, making his heart feel more grounded.

However, his wildly growing longing did not diminish because of it.
An unexpected situation delayed his return to Wutong by five days, pushing back his other arrangements as well. Qu Shu rebooked Ning Qiuyan’s flight so he could head back the moment he finished work, but this meant he would miss Uncle Ping’s scheduled trips to and from Du Island.

Uncle Ping was a stubborn man. Aside from the one time Lu Qianque had practically kidnapped Ning Qiuyan to bring him to the island, he strictly left the island on Fridays and returned on Mondays. Even if there were occasional temporary travel plans, he didn’t necessarily feel like making an exception.

Ning Qiuyan felt bad about troubling Uncle Ping.

Thus, including the wait to get onto the island, he would be two days behind his original schedule.

Before he went to sign the contract, Rong Qi took the initiative to ask his family company’s legal counsel to carefully review the terms for Ning Qiuyan. Actually, Ning Qiuyan could have sent it to Lu Qianque for help, but Rong Qi was just as happy for him as his senior was, so he let Rong Qi handle it.

They had agreed to go together that day, but when it was time to leave, Rong Qi was nowhere to be found. By the time Ning Qiuyan finally saw him, Rong Qi looked listless, as if he had pulled several all-nighters in a row.

The two of them hadn’t seen each other for about seven or eight days.

Startled, Ning Qiuyan asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Haven’t you been sleeping lately?”

“I have.” Rong Qi had dark circles under his eyes, and his face was very pale. “I just feel a bit tired. Kaile is coming to see me in a bit, so I won’t go with you today, Xiao Ning.”

Ning Qiuyan nodded. “Then get some good rest.”

Rong Qi gave a grunt of affirmation, climbed onto his bed, and quickly closed his eyes.

Still a bit worried, Ning Qiuyan asked if he was cold.

Rong Qi nodded dizzily.

Ning Qiuyan turned up the air conditioning. After a moment’s thought, he grabbed his own quilt and draped it over Rong Qi, just as he used to do when they lived in the double dorm. Since moving in here, Rong Qi’s daily life had changed completely, and his performance on final exams had been poor. Although Peng Kaile seemed like a decent person, Ning Qiuyan wasn’t familiar with him at all. He didn’t know if Rong Qi’s recent excessive partying was related to Peng Kaile.

They were all adults, so Ning Qiuyan didn’t feel it was his place to criticize, but as a friend, he still wanted to talk to Rong Qi after he got back.

It was getting late, so Ning Qiuyan hurried out, scanned a shared bike, and rode out of the school gates.

The weather was freezing, and the wind chilled him to the bone, but it couldn’t dampen his faint excitement.

Regardless of his previous concerns or thoughts, this was proof that he had successfully taken the first step. For the first time, he had proven his own value.

It was too late to catch the subway, so Ning Qiuyan hurriedly hailed a taxi and headed straight for the client’s office.

In a conference room on the twelfth floor of that building, he signed his name, left his thumbprint, and stood up to shake hands with the person in charge. In the afternoon, the brand’s designer arrived and held a fifty-five-minute meeting with him.

The designer played a slideshow.

Ning Qiuyan needed to record some of their design concepts and points of inspiration. When he pulled a pen and paper out of his large backpack, everyone was momentarily stunned, though the atmosphere relaxed considerably afterward.

Ning Qiuyan had no agent and no company. His down jacket and hat were tossed casually on the table, and several midi rings were stacked on his slender fingers as he wrote.

Consequently, the rest of the meeting wasn’t nearly as formal. They didn’t even ask him to change anything, simply telling him to expand his snippets into full tracks according to his own ideas.

Ning Qiuyan listened intently and proactively offered some of his own thoughts. Midway through, the legendary head of the luxury brand even made a brief appearance for some unknown reason.

Once it was over, Ning Qiuyan’s heart immediately flew toward the airport, and he walked quickly toward the elevators.

However, the elevator lobby seemed to be the ultimate place for chance encounters. Just as he pressed the button, someone beside him greeted him: “Hello, my young friend.”

A familiar opening, a familiar voice.

Ning Qiuyan turned around and met a deep, wrinkle-free face that looked like it had been sculpted. A white-haired Westerner with silver eyes and a cold gaze-it was Mr. Jones, whom he had met at “Camellia Night.”

Wagner Jones, also known as V, an ancient Vampire. Ning Qiuyan never expected to run into him here.

They were inside the building, away from the sunlight.

Wagner was not alone. Standing beside him were three silent men in black. Ning Qiuyan could tell they were of the same kind.

There were no other humans around.

His previous excitement vanished instantly, and a chill ran down Ning Qiuyan’s spine. This time, Guan Heng wasn’t here.

“Hello, Mr. Jones,” he could only say, bracing himself.

“I didn’t expect to meet you here.” Wagner offered a smile, but it didn’t feel warm or approachable. “If I remember correctly, your surname is Ning, and you are called Ning Qiuyan, yes?”

Ning Qiuyan’s name wasn’t easy to pronounce, but as a foreigner, Wagner spoke it with perfect standard pronunciation.

He could only nod. “Yes, you remembered correctly.”

The person beside Wagner was sizing him up.

Ning Qiuyan noticed it.

The man had long hair, about the same length as Guan Heng’s. His gaze swept over Ning Qiuyan’s face and settled on the ear where Ning Qiuyan wore the Ruby Earring.

Ning Qiuyan pretended not to notice and turned to look at the elevator.

The floor numbers were descending again, but the elevator stopped on the seventeenth floor and didn’t move.

He gripped his backpack straps tightly, his hands trembling slightly.

Finally, the white numbers jumped again, reaching the twelfth floor. With a “ding,” the doors opened before him.

Should they enter the elevator together?

His thoughts were a jumbled, nervous mess.

“You go ahead, Ning Qiuyan,” Wagner said, seemingly seeing through the human’s thoughts. “We will wait for the next one.”

Ning Qiuyan gave him a nod and stepped into the elevator.

Before the doors closed, Wagner also gave Ning Qiuyan a nod. “Please give my regards to Mr. Guan.”