The Trick

After Yu Zechuan finished speaking, he fell completely silent. Leaning back against the wall, he stared at Lu Yan with a smile that wasn't quite a smile as a chill spread soundlessly through the air. It was the gaze of a predator watching its prey, and for a moment, it almost seemed as if he truly had his sights set on the man before him.

Unfortunately, Lu Yan didn't react much. He had started out listening to Yu Zechuan's story with grave apprehension, but by the end, an inexplicable thought had popped into his head: Oh. So that was all there was to it.

After all, it was perfectly normal to keep your partner informed of your whereabouts when you were dating. It might be a bit of an invasion of privacy and freedom, but compared to being stabbed to death, Lu Yan didn't think it amounted to much.

For some reason, he found it rather funny.

"You must get really jealous when you're in a relationship."

With that, Lu Yan straightened and took a step back, releasing Yu Zechuan from where he had him cornered. He raised a hand to smooth the collar Yu Zechuan had wrinkled, his long, bony fingers curving slightly, the blue veins on the back of his hand faintly visible. Then he abruptly changed tack.

"Still, you'd better not fall for me. Jealous men scare me more than anything."

Apparently, he wouldn't be satisfied until Yu Zechuan died of sheer fury.

Yu Zechuan bristled. "You!"

But Lu Yan had already punched in the passcode, darted into his apartment, and bolted away faster than a rabbit. The door shut with a soft bang, and Yu Zechuan's fist slammed furiously into it a moment later.

Remembering that he still hadn't transferred Lu Yan the money for the kitchen knife, Yu Zechuan gritted out, "Come out!"

He hated owing anyone a favor.

Hiding behind the door, Lu Yan thought he'd have to be an idiot to go back out there. Raising his voice slightly, he said, "Whatever it is, let's talk next time. It's getting late, so I'm going to bed."

He threw the deadbolt after speaking, then headed farther inside. Outside, Yu Zechuan nearly choked with rage. He pounded the door once, hard, then had no choice but to pick up the shopping bags and go home.

The pot of purple flossflowers sat quietly before the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking especially mysterious in the night.

Yu Zechuan turned on the light and walked over. Still simmering over Lu Yan's almost flirtatious remarks, he darkened and reached to throw the plant in the trash. But when his hand brushed the dry, brittle leaves, he realized that the flowers had already withered and died.

The flossflowers had bloomed so unobtrusively. Its flowers were no bigger than soybeans, clustered tightly together, their petals resembling daisies and fuzzy pom-poms all at once. Hidden among the dense leaves, they were nearly impossible to see unless one looked closely.

Yu Zechuan had never watered it. He had never once let it see real sunlight. Now that he had finally remembered to throw it away, he discovered that it had long since died in silence, tucked in a corner where no one would notice.

For some reason, he suddenly felt at a loss.

As if he had done something wrong. As if he had betrayed someone's kindness.

Yu Zechuan got up on instinct and went to the kitchen for water, then hurried back and poured it into the pot. With clumsy, haphazard movements, he tried to salvage something, but even when the water rose high enough to spill over, the plant remained lifeless.

One of its leaves even fell off.

Yu Zechuan pressed his lips together without realizing it. He watched muddy yellow-brown water slowly seep from the hole at the bottom of the flowerpot and stain the pale gray tile. At last, he understood that the plant might really be dead.

On the other side of the wall, Lu Yan, who was listening in, suddenly felt as if water had gotten into his ear. A burst of piercing static exploded through his earpiece. He shot upright in bed as if electrocuted and yanked the earpiece out, brows knitted tight. "Yu Zechuan couldn't have found something, could he?" he muttered under his breath.

The possibility was terrifying. It could directly determine how Lu Yan died.

Tentatively, Lu Yan put the earpiece back in. This time, there were no strange sounds at all. The silence was unnerving. Unease gnawed at him, and he nearly rushed next door to see what was going on, but reason restrained the impulse.

After the rain stopped, a bright moon emerged from behind the clouds. The Chinese parasol trees shed another carpet of dead leaves. Tonight was destined to be sleepless.

Yu Zechuan barely slept all night. Curled up on the sofa, he let his eyelids droop, but his gaze kept straying to the dead plant on the windowsill. It was one of the few acts of kindness anyone had ever shown him.

Spending too long submerged in despair really was a frightening thing. To him, even the smallest spark felt scorching hot, too painful to hold.

Yu Zechuan closed his eyes and decided to throw the plant away once morning came. There was no reason to keep something that had already died.

Early the next morning, Yu Zechuan put the flowerpot in a plastic bag and prepared to take it downstairs. The moment he opened his door, however, he nearly walked into someone. As the other man drew close, the faint scent of laundry detergent filled his nose, and an amused voice sounded above his head. "Oh, it's you. What a coincidence."

Yu Zechuan looked up and saw Lu Yan. Remembering the withered plant in his bag, his heart inexplicably lurched, and he instinctively hid it behind his back. "Mm," he replied without emotion. "What a coincidence."

For once, he had actually responded, though his tone was as cold as ever.

Lu Yan had spent the entire morning lying in wait for Yu Zechuan, and he had finally caught him. He glanced over casually, then noticed that the black trash bag in Yu Zechuan's hand was oddly shaped and seemed quite heavy. His heart skipped as a possibility occurred to him.

Why would Yu Zechuan throw the plant away for no reason?

Lu Yan felt even more uneasy. Lowering his eyes slightly, he tried to find some clue in Yu Zechuan's expression, but the mask made his face impossible to read.

Lu Yan smiled and asked tentatively, "Are you taking out the trash?"

For some inexplicable reason, Yu Zechuan didn't want Lu Yan to know that he had killed the plant. Frowning, he gave a perfunctory "Mm."

Then he quickly brushed past Lu Yan, went out to the elevator, and pressed the button. To his surprise, the man behind him followed in a single long stride. The eyes above Lu Yan's mask curved in a smile as he pressed his palms together. "You're not still mad at me, are you?"

"I was wrong yesterday. I'm sorry. Be the bigger man and forgive me, all right?"

The satisfaction of making someone who was asking for a beating apologize of his own accord was beyond the average person's comprehension.

Yu Zechuan stepped into the elevator. At last, he raised his eyes to Lu Yan. "Wrong? What did you do wrong?"

He still remembered Lu Yan accusing him of being jealous yesterday and warning him not to fall for him, as if Yu Zechuan were some terrifying scourge to be avoided at all costs. Suppressing his anger, Yu Zechuan waited for an explanation.

Standing behind him, Lu Yan replied with perfect meekness, "I shouldn't have rejected your advances."

Yu Zechuan: "?"

Lu Yan continued, "If you really did fall for me, I should've been honored. I shouldn't have turned you down the way I did yesterday."

Yu Zechuan: "??"

In conclusion...

Lu Yan looked utterly sincere. "I was wrong. Please forgive me."

He clearly hadn't come to apologize. He had come to pick a fight.

Yu Zechuan tried to hold back, then tried again, but in the end, he couldn't. The hand at his side slowly clenched into a fist. Without warning, he drove a crisp elbow into Lu Yan, knocking him half a step back. "Keep talking nonsense, and next time I'll hit you in the face," he warned in a low voice.

It was a skillful blow, more shove than strike. Lu Yan clutched his stomach and stumbled back half a step, but it didn't hurt much at all.

And so Lu Yan knew that Yu Zechuan had found neither the listening device in the flowerpot nor his true identity. Rubbing his stomach, he said with a smile, "Hey, with a temper like that, no one's going to like you."

Yu Zechuan sneered dismissively. "I don't need anyone to like me."

No one ever had. It had been that way his entire life.

Just then, the elevator reached the first floor. Yu Zechuan walked straight out with the trash bag, leaving Lu Yan standing there in a daze.

Lu Yan was looking down, wondering whether he should follow to see what happened, when a pair of black lace-up sneakers suddenly appeared in his lowered field of vision.

Yu Zechuan had doubled back. Frowning, he thrust his phone screen in front of Lu Yan, impatience written all over his face. "Add me on WeChat. I'll transfer you the money for yesterday's purchases."

Lu Yan paused, then politely declined. "There's no need. It was only a few dozen yuan."

Yu Zechuan stared at him ominously. "Are you adding me or not?"

Lu Yan: "..."

Lu Yan had no choice but to take out his phone and scan the code. Once they had added each other, Yu Zechuan entered his own name and was about to add a note for Lu Yan when he remembered that he still didn't know the man's name. "What's your name?"

Lu Yan fell subtly silent for a moment. "My name is..."

Yu Zechuan pressed, "Your name is what?"

Lu Yan's thoughts raced. He remembered dying in each of the previous two rounds because he had lied. After hemming and hawing for ages, he finally managed, "Uh... Yan. The Yan in yannian yishou, 'prolong one's life.'"

Yu Zechuan frowned. "That's it?"

What about his surname?

Lu Yan shoved both hands into his coat pockets and lowered his head in feigned shyness. "If you don't like that name, you can call me Yanyan~ All my friends do."

Yu Zechuan: "..."

Yu Zechuan turned and left. If he stayed any longer, he feared Lu Yan would disgust him to death.

Worried he might arouse suspicion, Lu Yan pretended to visit the convenience store downstairs for some oden. Through its translucent window, he watched from a distance as Yu Zechuan threw out the trash and left. Only after a few moments did he walk over to the garbage bin to investigate.

Through the half-open mouth of the bag, he could easily see a pot of dried, yellowed flowers. The dehydrated leaves had shriveled and fallen until little more than bare stems remained.

So it was only because the plant had died.

Lu Yan stood there, deep in thought. Then, as though something had occurred to him, he walked to the curb and hailed a cab. Sliding into the back seat, he told the driver, "The nearest flower shop, please."

The driver glanced at Lu Yan in the rearview mirror and saw a young man in a mask. Who bought flowers this early in the morning? Starting the car, he asked, "Flowers for your girlfriend, young man?"

Lu Yan didn't want to explain, so he only smiled and gave no answer.

Before long, the phone in his pocket vibrated with a transfer notification. Lu Yan checked and saw that it was from Yu Zechuan, then turned off his phone again without accepting it.

Yu Zechuan's life rarely varied from day to day. That afternoon, he was working at his computer when a knock sounded from outside, making his hands pause over the keyboard.

Knock, knock, knock.

The sound came again, clearly this time.

Yu Zechuan frowned, unable to imagine who would come looking for him. He pushed back his chair, walked to the door, and opened it a crack, his gaze wary. "Who is it?"

"It's me."

Lu Yan greeted him from outside, carrying a bag whose contents were impossible to make out. His eyes were smiling above his mask, somehow calling to mind brilliant fireworks bursting suddenly across the night sky.

Seeing him, Yu Zechuan froze for an instant. "You?"

His fingers relaxed unconsciously around the handle, and under the pressure, the tightly held door slowly swung wider, allowing a sliver of warm yellow light from the hallway to spill inside.

Lu Yan nodded, then asked without preamble, "Did you kill the pot of flossflowers I gave you?"

Yu Zechuan went still. "..."

He should have known the brat's sudden visit meant trouble. So Lu Yan had come to settle the score.

Yu Zechuan would never admit to wrongdoing even when he was at fault, much less when he believed he had done nothing wrong. Lu Yan had forced the plant on him; it wasn't as though he had wanted it. Raising a brow, he retorted, "So what if I did?"

Did Lu Yan plan to fight him over it?

Clearly not. Instead, Lu Yan took a flowerpot from the bag and held it out to Yu Zechuan. "I gave it some thought, and flossflowers really is a little difficult to care for. And since I accidentally made you angry yesterday, I bought you a new plant today as an apology."

A new one?

Following his gaze, Yu Zechuan discovered that Lu Yan was holding a green cactus with a tiny yellow flower at the top. It was ugly as sin. His expression shifted several times before settling into displeasure. "You call a cactus a flower?"

Lu Yan lowered his head and stroked the little yellow blossom atop the cactus. "This is a flower. Look, it's blooming."

It bloomed and was easy to keep alive. What could be better?

"You..."

Yu Zechuan was about to say something when the phone in his pants pocket suddenly rang with an incoming call. He had no choice but to set the subject aside and turn his back to Lu Yan as he answered. "Hello?"

It was Xue Jin. "Hey, I'm just getting off work. I'll bring you something to eat on my way home."

Yu Zechuan glanced at the time on his wrist. "No need. I've eaten today."

Xue Jin teased, "Once all day, right? Don't starve yourself to death before you accomplish anything. Besides, I need that island marketing proposal today. Jiang Boyun is going to Dingyou tomorrow to discuss the partnership."

Yu Zechuan had no choice but to say, "Fine. Come over."

Xue Jin said, "I'm almost downstairs. Give me ten minutes to park, and I'll be up."

Standing outside the door, Lu Yan's heart churned with alarm. Yu Zechuan hadn't named the person on the phone, but he was such a loner that the only person likely to bring him food at this apartment was Xue Jin.

Unlike Yu Zechuan, who knew nothing, Xue Jin had seen the original host with his own eyes. He also knew all about the sordid business between the original host and Jiang Boyun. If they ran into each other, Xue Jin would almost certainly recognize him.

That sneaky bastard Xue Jin had nearly done Lu Yan in with his shredded pork with green peppers and matcha cake in the previous round. There was no way Lu Yan would let Xue Jin be his downfall this time.

Countless thoughts flashed through Lu Yan's mind in the space of a few seconds. When Yu Zechuan ended the call, Lu Yan smiled and offered him the cactus. "Take it. Your apartment's too dreary. Looking at something green will be good for your eyes."

Yu Zechuan disliked how ugly it was. "I don't like taking care of things."

Lu Yan patiently explained, "You don't even have to water it. Just put it next to your computer."

Without waiting for an answer, he thrust the cactus into Yu Zechuan's hands and turned back toward his apartment, lest he leave too late and run into Xue Jin.

Yu Zechuan was half a beat too slow to refuse and could only accept the palm-sized cactus. Watching Lu Yan leave, he lowered his gaze and touched one of the spines. Its spine was sharp and painful to the touch, while the flower at its crown trembled delicately, the very picture of fragility by contrast.

Yu Zechuan stared at it, lost in thought.

Back in his own apartment, Lu Yan sat at his computer desk and turned on the surveillance equipment. He put on his earpiece and closed his eyes, listening intently to the movement next door. His fingertips tapped the desk at irregular intervals, afraid that he might miss a single word.

Based on what Yu Zechuan had said just before dying in the previous round, Lu Yan could infer that Xue Jin wouldn't copy the evidence from Jiang Boyun's computer until the end of the month. It was only the beginning of the month now, so there shouldn't be much cause for concern.

But Lu Yan knew the power of the butterfly effect all too well. He had changed far too much at the start of this lifetime. If even one detail altered the overall course of events, his life could be in danger. He didn't dare lower his guard.

Eight minutes after Lu Yan left, Xue Jin rode the elevator upstairs. Carrying a bag of food, he walked to Yu Zechuan's door, entered the passcode with practiced ease, and shut the door behind him.

"The rain finally let up for a while today. Traffic was pretty bad, though."

Yu Zechuan sat on the sofa, still studying the palm-sized cactus. Without raising his head at Xue Jin's voice, he said casually, "I told you not to come."

"No way. I was afraid you'd starve to death. If Annie hadn't told me to bring you some food, do you really think I'd want to come over?"

Xue Jin set the paper bag on the table and began taking out the containers one by one. "Matcha mousse, shredded pork with green peppers, stir-fried shredded potatoes, pork rib soup..."

Yu Zechuan cut him off. "Stop listing them. They're all things you two like."

Xue Jin adjusted his glasses. "I'd have brought something you like, but you aren't picky at all. Annie loves the matcha cake from that bakery, so she specifically asked me to bring you one."

"Besides, shredded pork with green peppers is delicious. I could eat three big bowls of rice with it."

There were few things Yu Zechuan liked and a great many he hated. He opened the pork rib soup and took a sip. "The soup is enough for me. You can eat the rest. I don't like sweets, so don't bring me any next time."

"Fine, I'll eat it. I just got off work, and I'm hungry anyway."

Xue Jin didn't stand on ceremony. He sat down on the sofa and began eating straight from the bowl. He picked up a bite of shredded pork with green peppers, then frowned as he chewed. "Ptooey. Why are the peppers so bitter? Don't tell me they've gone bad. They were bad last time I had this dish, and now they're bad again."

Yu Zechuan glanced over. "Then don't eat them."

Xue Jin said, "Forget it. The meat tastes fine. I'll pick it out so it doesn't go to waste."

The Yu family had given Xue Jin ample support when he studied abroad years ago, but he had remained unusually frugal. Like most international students from ordinary backgrounds, he worked part-time on weekends, and as long as a meal hadn't spoiled, he would reheat it seven or eight times.

Yu Zechuan watched him silently for a moment, a sour feeling suddenly rising in his chest. It felt as if he were about to drag another person with a promising future down with him.

"Xue Jin."

"What is it?"

Yu Zechuan wanted a cigarette. He felt his pocket, then restrained himself. "Stay out of what happens next."

Xue Jin paused mid-bite, then resumed eating as usual. "We'll talk about that when the time comes. By the way, I've been investigating the accounting records from back then. Jiang Boyun went on a business trip a couple of days ago, and I almost figured out his password..."

Bzzzt!

The abrupt ring of an incoming call cut Xue Jin off. He looked instinctively at the phone on the coffee table and asked in confusion, "Zechuan, who's calling you on WeChat?"

Sharp-eyed as he was, he had noticed that the caller ID showed someone named "Yan."

"No one you know."

Yu Zechuan offered no explanation. He picked up the phone and walked to the balcony to answer. Xue Jin couldn't hear what was said, but Yu Zechuan's expression suddenly changed. He turned and hurried toward the door, tossing a hasty sentence over his shoulder.

"Something urgent came up. I need to go out. Finish eating. The proposal's on a USB drive, so remember to copy it later!"