The Long Night - Chapter 40

Tang Shaocheng was washing his hands in the restroom, rubbing them together for a while. Li Yi-yun was waiting for him at the door. “There’s only one flight left tonight. Let your little one know.”

“Okay, thank you.”

The light shone on Tang Shaocheng’s face. His eyelashes looked fluffy in the warm light, as if they were covered in snowflakes.

“Have I ever told you that you’re in the prime of your career?” Li Yi-yun touched his nose. “There’s cyber police for cyberbullying. At worst, there’s a psychologist. Just hang in there, and it’ll pass.”

Tang Shaocheng glanced at him noncommittally. “You only say that because it hasn’t happened to you.”

“What if it happened to you?”

The two of them left the restroom and went straight to the elevator. Tang Shaocheng frowned. Li Yi-yun didn’t wait for him to answer and continued to speak to himself. “But you’re so cautious that something like this would never happen.”

Tang Shaocheng suddenly remembered that he had an intuition that something was wrong on the day the art exhibition ended, but he didn’t stop it in time. He sighed. “It’s my fault.”

“Hey, don’t blame yourself,” Li Yi-yun patted his shoulder in a comforting manner. “You can’t make him see things with your mindset. If you did, would he still be him? You can’t just change the other person to be exactly like you when you’re in a relationship.”

Tang Shaocheng’s expression was helpless. “I used to think that way, and that’s how it turned out this way.”

“There you go again,” Li Yi-yun hit him on the back. “Do you really think you can make the clouds turn and the rain fall with a flip of your hand?”

The two of them stepped out of the elevator and into the open air. The early spring sun was gentle. Li Yi-yun said with the clarity of a bystander, “It’s not a bad thing for him to learn a lesson. You can’t solve every problem for him.”

“Even if he was wrong, it’s my fault for not looking after him. I have to find a way to take care of it for him.”

Tang Shaocheng’s tone was serious. Li Yi-yun stared at him for a while and then laughed. “Okay, okay, so this is what love is, huh?”

When the two of them arrived at the airport, Zhou Yu-nan was already waiting in a cafe in the terminal.

Zhou Yu-nan lifted a few strands of hair and neatly tied them into a ponytail. “I’ve already sent legal letters to the accounts that were fueling the fire. They’re experienced serial offenders. They hide their accounts and create new ones right before their views and shares reach the critical point. It’s never severe enough to warrant anything more than a public apology letter.”

She tapped on her keyboard a few times and sent over some documents. “But an apology or a statement like that would only be seen by the public as an attempt to silence people, so it’s better not to. If we want to clarify things, we have to find the culprits.”

“I understand.” Tang Shaocheng lowered his head. “The contract Yan Liao signed with them theoretically has no loopholes. There’s even a specific clause that allows for automatic termination if his negative image affects the company’s reputation, which was prepared for this exact situation.”

“That’s going to be a tough one.” Zhou Yu-nan sighed. “Their boss has gotten a huge piece of meat and won’t easily spit it out.”

The air fell silent. Li Yi-yun encouraged them at the right moment. “Don’t be discouraged. Let’s start with this guy named Shen. We’ll follow the vine to find the melon.”

Tang Shaocheng lowered his gaze and looked at the documents Zhou Yu-nan sent. His fingers subconsciously tapped on his leg, feeling a little restless.

In high school, his math scores were always perfect. He rarely hesitated when doing problems. Even for the final, most challenging proof problems, he could tell which auxiliary lines to draw and which formulas to use just by looking at them.

In court, he was always able to quickly determine the most advantageous defense and use concise and powerful language to win the greatest benefits for his client.

This ability, which his classmates and colleagues considered a superpower—the ability to find the optimal solution to a problem as soon as he saw it—now seemed to have failed him, leaving him helpless.

Tang Shaocheng only knew that he had to first find Shen Yi-ran and Chen Zheng-xi, who had vanished from the face of the earth, but he didn’t have a complete plan yet. He was more like taking one step at a time. His goal was not compensation; it was public justice, which was even more difficult.

He thought it over and realized that among the people he knew, there was only one person who might have a way to solve this, and he never thought he would need to rely on this person’s methods one day.

There was still some time before the flight took off. He called Qin Yun-qi.

Tang Shaocheng still remembered the shy and timid smile on Yu Xing’s face that day. He had always thought that Yu Xing was forced to be with Qin Yun-qi and that their relationship was a story of forced love, but that day, he realized that he had been in the dark all along.

Even though he didn’t know how they had reached such a tragic end, he had a vague premonition that it had something to do with Qin Li. If it really followed the previous storyline, Tang Shaocheng remembered many things that happened between them, and he could use them to exchange for something of value.

“You want me to win you over?” Qin Yun-qi snorted coldly. “Who knows if you’re the old man’s spy?”

“I’m not.”

Tang Shaocheng only denied it without explaining. Qin Yun-qi inexplicably believed him a little and started to speak to him as a friend. “My dad is different from normal people. He’s too controlling. If there were some kind of soul transfer technology, he would want to switch into my body and live my life for me.” Qin Yun-qi’s tone was light. He then casually asked, “Your dad doesn’t control you that much, does he?”

Tang Shaocheng’s expression was as calm as a lake. “My father passed away a long time ago.”

“Tsk,” Qin Yun-qi was not afraid of offending people and spoke without restraint. “I envy you.”

Tang Shaocheng didn’t respond and stated his purpose concisely. The news about Yan Liao had become a big deal recently. Qin Yun-qi had also heard about it and was just treating it as entertainment, but he never expected it to be related to Tang Shaocheng.

“You don’t need to trade anything with me. Consider it a thank you for last time. I’ll also take this opportunity to clean up some disobedient pawns.” A smile appeared on the corner of Qin Yun-qi’s mouth. “Lawyer Tang, are you still trying to find the surveillance footage from that day? People don’t need to know the truth; they just need a distraction.”

Qin Yun-qi quickly and skillfully found a public relations team. Capitalist games and manipulating public opinion had always been Qin’s Group’s specialty.

The plane landed thousands of miles away, close to the border. When they found Shen Yi-ran, the smile on his face was like a broken umbrella.

Tang Shaocheng pushed his phone over. The screen showed the hospital bill for Shen Yi-ran’s father’s hospitalization. “This isn’t the first time you’ve done something like this, is it?”

Shen Yi-ran’s face turned pale as if he had been struck by lightning. After only a few words, his forehead and cheeks were covered in a fine layer of cold sweat. He took a deep breath as if he were smoking. “I’m sorry to Yan Liao.”

A hint of darkness flashed in Tang Shaocheng’s eyes. “He doesn’t need to hear that from you.”

Shen Yi-ran’s expression was close to collapse, but he was desperately holding back, as if a fierce force were tearing at his stomach. “I actually had it all planned out. If you guys found me, I would tell you everything.”

Chen Zheng-xi never expected that after so many years of working together so well, he would be betrayed by Shen Yi-ran.

Life doesn’t become smooth without a destination, nor does it become free without meaning.

The deep winter finally showed signs of ending. It hadn’t snowed in a long time. Yan Liao sat on the cushion in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, like a plant that was constantly softening under the sunlight.

He looked at the neat rows of buildings outside. The little golden retriever was happily playing with its bone-shaped plush toy next to him. Neither of them bothered the other.

He always felt that his throat was very hoarse, like dry land that was about to crack after a long drought. His fingers and throat seemed to have lost their ability to speak. The messages he sent to Tang Shaocheng were only a few words long.

Tang Shaocheng’s plane landed, and he sent back a voice message. “Wait for me, my good boy.” There was a short pause in the middle of the four words, so the first two characters, “good boy,” sounded like a term of endearment.

Yan Liao couldn’t help but turn up the volume and listen again.

Tang Shaocheng’s voice rang out clearly in the silent living room, a little abruptly. The puppy was startled and started running in circles, barking at the phone.

“That’s Papa.”

Yan Liao patiently introduced Tang Shaocheng’s voice to it. He suddenly remembered a few evenings ago when he was lying on the sofa, half-asleep. Tang Shaocheng picked up the puppy that was lying on him and said softly, “Don’t bother your brother while he’s sleeping.”

Yan Liao squinted, sorted out the relationships, and suddenly felt that this scene seemed familiar.

The few days Tang Shaocheng was away, he was worried that Yan Liao would get depressed being alone for so long, so he asked Lu Xiao and Ge Dong-lin to check on him when they had time. Lu Xiao was always a straightforward person who wasn’t very good at comforting others. He just went over with two cases of beer.

When he saw Yan Liao, he was also tongue-tied and didn’t know what to say. After a “it’s all in the wine,” he decisively got himself drunk. He soon lay on the sofa like a puddle of mud, his arm hanging down right into the dog’s bed. The little golden retriever was so angry that it kept digging at the ground.

Ge Dong-lin patiently chatted with Yan Liao, but his deliberate avoidance of the topic made the air feel awkward and uncomfortable. The dishes on the table also became bland.

Yan Liao leaned back in his chair and said in a forced, casual tone, “It’s no big deal.”

His voice seemed light, but it was as if it had become the heavy wings of a butterfly covered in dew the moment it came out of his mouth, too heavy to be lifted.

“Yeah, it’ll all pass eventually. It’s better to forget about it.”

Ge Dong-lin sat across from him, his face an impeccable blend of sympathy, pity, and anger. But his foot under the table was unconsciously tapping, like a soft pedal on a piano, a sign of suppressed excitement.

Tang Shaocheng had gathered evidence from Shen Yi-ran. Qin Yun-qi also quickly found Chen Zheng-xi under the pretense of a collaboration, saying he was very interested in his “black-and-red marketing” and wanted to discuss a partnership.

As soon as Chen Zheng-xi heard the name of Qin’s Group, he couldn’t even bother to take his vacation and rushed back to meet with the crown prince.

Qin Yun-qi didn’t say what happened next, and Tang Shaocheng had no way of knowing what methods he used to get a recording. After getting it authenticated, he posted it online, which caused another huge uproar.

Chen Zheng-xi proudly talked about all his past operations. Many newcomers like Yan Liao were first praised as a rising star, garnering admiration and envy. Then, a different set of accounts would expose the inside story, inciting public condemnation. In the end, those people all had a miserable ending, almost disappearing from the industry.

Finally, the MCN agency controlled by Chen Zheng-xi went out of business and issued a public apology statement. The comments below were full of “serves you right” and “karma.” It was the first and last time Chen Zheng-xi ever appeared in public. His face was ashen as he said he was willing to accept the punishment.

Yan Liao hadn’t been online for a long time, and his phone was still off, so he hadn’t seen any of this.

The early spring streets were filled with white willow catkins. It looked like the winter snow had extended to the present, but it was warm and light.

Tang Shaocheng returned earlier than he had said he would.

When he opened the door, he saw Yan Liao sitting on the carpet with a plate of pasta. The little dog next to him was also happily eating its dog food from a blue ceramic bowl. It would eat two bites and then look up at Yan Liao to check on him. It was like a diligent and dedicated caregiver who had just started its job and was looking after a patient who couldn’t take care of himself.

The sound of Tang Shaocheng opening the door was like pulling the plug out of a sink. The draft formed a whirlpool-like sound. The person and the puppy in the living room both raised their heads and looked in his direction in perfect sync.

“You’re back from your business trip so early this time.” Yan Liao put the plate on the coffee table. After quickly chewing and swallowing the pasta in his mouth, he asked, “Have you eaten?”

Tang Shaocheng changed his shoes while closing the door. “Things went smoothly, so I came back a little earlier. I already ate.”

He took off his coat and hung it on the rack by the door. After washing his hands, he went straight to the kitchen. When he came back, he had packed shrimp scrambled eggs and tomato beef. They were a little cold, so he heated them in the microwave.

The “ding” of the microwave seemed to be infinitely stretched in the quiet air. After Yan Liao spoke less, the house was often quiet in a way that took some getting used to.

He put down his chopsticks, hugged his knees, and rested his head on his arms, turning his head to watch the puppy eat. The sound of the puppy’s tail wagging on the floor was like a telegraph, probably trying to say that the freeze-dried food was delicious.

The kitchen, which had been silent for several days, seemed to come back to life with Tang Shaocheng’s operation. It was like a machine that had been wound up again, its stiff joints creaking.

When he came out with the plate, he saw a black head and a fluffy little puppy head side by side, both looking down. The little golden retriever was still eating very hard, like a bulldozer, unwilling to lift its head. Yan Liao quickly pulled on it when it almost fell into the bowl.

“What did you do today?” Tang Shaocheng asked patiently, trying to get him to talk.

Yan Liao lifted his eyelids. “Played games, ate, and slept,” and then glanced at the golden retriever, whose tail was now wagging like a propeller since it was full. “I also took it to the park this morning.”

The park next to the house was like a charger for the puppy. It could run around for half an hour and be happy all day.

Tang Shaocheng smiled and lowered his eyes, not even sure which one he was praising. “You’re so good.”

Yan Liao looked up at him, and the disdainful expression he used to have, a mix of getting away with something and playing innocent, had returned to his eyes. Tang Shaocheng hadn’t seen such a lively expression on him since he had cut off contact with the outside world. He couldn’t help but reach out and hug him. “Come here and let me kiss you.”

“Why are you so happy?”

Yan Liao was inexplicably kissed firmly on the forehead. He wrapped his arms around Tang Shaocheng’s waist. The warm, soft feeling of the sweater was on his palms. He also pressed his face into the sweater on the other’s chest.