swimuntilseaturnsblue

[swimuntilseaturnsblue]

Chapter 53

raw link：重生之真不挖煤_萝卜桑1著_长佩文学网

After getting off the highway, they looked for a place to spend the night. Neither had planned ahead, so they just found a hotel on the map.

While Yan Ze went to park the car, Xu Hao checked in. By the time Yan Ze returned, Xu Hao had already booked two suites and was waiting in the lobby with the keycards.

When Xu Hao saw Yan Ze walking in with his hands in his pockets, his expression seemed unnatural. Xu Hao handed him one of the keycards and asked, "What's up?"

Yan Ze glanced at the keycard in his hand, then noticed Xu Hao still holding another. His expression wavered momentarily before he quickly covered it with a cough. "Nothing. Uh, what are we eating tonight?"

Xu Hao led Yan Ze toward the stairs. "Let's drop our stuff off first, then wander around town to find food."

When the elevator door opened, Xu Hao held it, gesturing for Yan Ze to exit first. Yan Ze checked his room number, followed the corridor, then walked behind Xu Hao, discreetly watching to see which room he'd be in.

Xu Hao scanned the door next to Yan Ze's. "See you in five minutes?"

Realizing they were staying next door to each other, Yan Ze opened his door first and said, "Sure."

--

They walked to the nearby Muslim Quarter. There was a tiny restaurant that Xu Hao and Yan Ze entered. The ceiling was low—Yan Ze, walking in front, nearly hit his head on the doorframe. Xu Hao, following behind, only then realized he needed to duck, feeling a bit of schadenfreude.

They squeezed into the only available small table against the wall, sitting shoulder to shoulder facing the wall. It looked barely comfortable, but at least the place was bustling.

Xu Hao broke apart disposable chopsticks and scraped them together. Yan Ze copied him, also scraping his chopsticks. Xu Hao looked at Yan Ze's chopsticks with wooden splinters sticking out and said, "Your chopsticks look exactly the same as before you scraped them."

Yan Ze stared at the chopsticks in his hand with disgust. "What is this crap?" Then he surveyed the restaurant. "Is this place even decent?"

Xu Hao said, "No life experience, huh, Young Master Yan?"

Steaming noodles arrived. Yan Ze stirred them around with his chopsticks. "Right, and you've got life experience, feeding me that oden. Thinking back on it," Yan Ze couldn't help adding, "that stuff was disgusting."

Xu Hao mixed his noodles and sauce thoroughly, not looking up, and mocked Yan Ze in Cantonese-accented Mandarin, imitating how Yan Ze had been talking all day: "You're really different from other people, ah! Others remember kindness, you remember grudges. Good thing I do good deeds without expecting recognition, ah!"

With the background noise of chattering people, Yan Ze replied with a mix of street swagger, switching effortlessly to Cantonese: "Yeah, I'm different from others. I don't just hold grudges—I also like you."

Xu Hao didn't really understand Cantonese, but thanks to Yan Ze's constant exposure, he understood enough to catch this. It made him nearly choke on his noodles.

Xu Hao bit through the noodles in his mouth and pointed the ends of his chopsticks back at Yan Ze. "Don't think I can't understand you. Keep this up and I'll start speaking Shanxi dialect!"

Uncharacteristically, Yan Ze looked completely unbothered. He even tapped Xu Hao's bowl with his chopsticks. "Go ahead, the whole point of saying it is for you to understand."

Xu Hao thought, how childish is this guy? Then he scooped a big spoonful of chili into Yan Ze's bowl, pointed at his noodles with chopsticks, and started firing back in Shanxi dialect: "You asked for this."

Yan Ze scooped some back into Xu Hao's bowl. Both guys endured the spice while eating noodles and bickering in their hometown dialects. Despite the cold weather, they worked up a sweat.

After finishing, their mouths burning, they wanted some alcohol, so they went to a roadside bar. But Xu Hao thought the first sip tasted like fake liquor, and Yan Ze was even pickier. They decided to throw down some cash and find another place.

Outside was a street full of bars. At the entrance, Yan Ze checked his pocket and realized he'd forgotten his cigarettes. Considering the hotel wasn't far, Xu Hao suggested Yan Ze go back to get them while he found a bar and sent Yan Ze the location. Yan Ze agreed.

After separating, Xu Hao walked along the road and spotted a bar with a hidden entrance. Based on years of experience, Xu Hao knew these places often had something special.

But going in, he found it was just a bit darker, with a louder dance floor—nothing particularly special.

As for the outlandish outfits, that was normal for bars.

Xu Hao found a relatively quiet booth, ordered a foreign liquor, and found the bartender skilled, so he decided to stay and sent Yan Ze the location.

Drinking and surveying his surroundings, Xu Hao noticed men and women passing by, some glancing at him.

Not far from Xu Hao's seat, two young women at the bar kept whispering and laughing, occasionally looking his way. Xu Hao tilted his head with his drink, making eye contact with one of them.

It didn't feel like they were interested in approaching him—more like they thought something was weird about his face and were specifically discussing it. That look in their eyes was off, though Xu Hao couldn't place exactly why.

Xu Hao touched his face, wondering what was wrong, when suddenly his view was blocked by an exposed midriff right in front of him.

Looking up from the waist: crop top, nipple piercings, pink hair, heavy makeup.

On a man.

Despite the thick makeup, it was obviously a man.

Standing right in front of Xu Hao.

The pink-haired man winked at Xu Hao with his left eye adorned with thick false eyelashes. He bent down, cigarette between his fingers, gently blowing smoke into Xu Hao's face, and said, "Hey handsome, any chance I could buy you a drink?"

Then his eyes caught sight of Xu Hao's mechanical watch, and his tone became even more suggestive as he leaned in closer. "Or, you could treat me instead?"

Xu Hao looked around, suddenly enlightened. "...Bro, I'm sorry, wrong bar." He stood up, ready to leave. Fuck, it was a gay bar. Gotta text Yan Ze quick and tell him not to come.

The pink-haired guy blocked Xu Hao's path with his arm, seemingly unwilling to let him leave so easily, but Xu Hao was busy texting and just sidestepped him to continue toward the exit. Suddenly, a burly dude charged over, pointing at Xu Hao and the pink-haired guy like he'd caught them in an affair. He landed a solid punch on Pink Hair, cursing about how this was the umpteenth time he'd caught him cheating.

Pink Hair started wailing and trying to hide. Xu Hao thought, not only did I walk into the wrong place, but now I'm stuck in some trashy drama. What the hell. He tried to leave, but Burly wouldn't let him go, insisting Xu Hao stay to explain the situation. Xu Hao looked down at Pink Hair on the floor again. Damn!

Looking around, those two young women who'd been eyeing Xu Hao earlier had quietly moved closer, looking super excited like they'd reached a climactic episode in some TV drama. No one seemed able to help explain the situation.

So Xu Hao suggested checking the security cameras, but Burly said there weren't any. After a few more pointless exchanges, Xu Hao said, "Look... do you really think I would be so..." He gestured up and down at the pink-haired guy, struggling to find a description that wasn't too harsh.

This gesture made Pink Hair cry even louder, throwing a tantrum on the floor. Burly pointed at Pink Hair, "See this? And you're saying there's nothing between you two?"

Xu Hao couldn't hold back anymore and finished his sentence: "...so tasteless?"

Now Burly was furious too. "Who are you calling tasteless?"

The phone in Xu Hao's pocket started vibrating. He stopped wasting words and tried to walk past everyone toward the exit.

Burly followed, "Hold it! Explain what's going on between you two. You're not leaving until you come clean!"

Xu Hao pulled out his phone to answer it when he looked up and saw Yan Ze.

Yan Ze had just walked in, right hand holding his phone up by his ear, left hand with a freshly lit cigarette between his fingers, standing at the bar.

When he spotted Xu Hao, Yan Ze lowered his phone, his gaze extending past Xu Hao, obviously noticing the man behind him.

Yan Ze started walking toward Xu Hao.

Xu Hao thought, great.

Yan Ze tilted his head, taking a drag from his cigarette, and pointed his left hand past Xu Hao from several meters away. "What are you doing?"

The question wasn't for Xu Hao—clearly directed at the person behind him.

Xu Hao stepped forward and grabbed Yan Ze's right arm hanging at his side, trying to pull him outside while maintaining their pace, but Yan Ze was determined to get to the bottom of this, making it difficult to drag him away.

After a few seconds of this tug-of-war with Yan Ze, Xu Hao gave up, turned around, and just spelled it out for the stubborn Burly: "Look at us. Isn't this explanation enough?"

Burly was taken aback, looking Xu Hao and Yan Ze up and down. "You two are a couple?"

Xu Hao said, "Isn't that obvious?"

Burly examined Xu Hao, then Yan Ze, then looked back at the mess of smeared makeup that was Pink Hair—talk about being outclassed. Pink Hair clearly had no competitive edge here. After a long pause, all Burly could manage was: "Well, this... this seems like a waste..."

Xu Hao: ...

These thrills were definitely for younger folks.

Getting back to the hotel went smoothly. They grabbed some drinks from the car's mini-fridge on the way and ended up on the open rooftop terrace, where they polished off several bottles. The alcohol hit hard, suddenly going to their heads as the temperature dropped below zero. Xu Hao, sobered slightly by the cold wind, suggested they head in to sleep.

Some alcohol remained. As Xu Hao was opening his door, Yan Ze leaned against the doorframe with the unfinished bottle, a drunken flush spreading across his face, his eyes glazed with intoxication as he looked at Xu Hao.

Ever since Xu Hao had publicly acknowledged their relationship at the bar, Yan Ze had been happy. This happiness wasn't obvious on the surface, but it gradually leaked through his uninhibited expression.

Xu Hao tried to pull the door open, but couldn't. Yan Ze was determined to lean against it with his bottle. Xu Hao's alcohol tolerance wasn't great to begin with, and now he was staggering, his speech slurred, seeing double: "You asshole... just give me back my door."

Yan Ze had half his body hanging on the door, struggling to stand straight, unclear whether he was trying to speak Cantonese or Mandarin: "Still got some left... invite me in for a drink."

Xu Hao pulled Yan Ze's body into the room, then tried to get the door again. "First... first give me back my door."

Yan Ze stumbled inside, then flopped down on the living room sofa, drunkenly mumbling to himself.

Xu Hao closed the door, turned around, and saw a slightly blurry Yan Ze sprawled on the sofa. He walked over and sat down beside him. The alcohol had fully kicked in, and Xu Hao's expression was completely dazed.

After lying there for a while, Yan Ze suddenly propped up his upper body, then rolled over toward Xu Hao.

Xu Hao, with delayed reactions, was about to turn and look at Yan Ze when he was grabbed from behind in a strong embrace.

Xu Hao's thoughts were hazy—five years, ten years, a vividly colored oil painting, lovers in the sunset, neither together nor apart.

A pair of eyes in the darkness—whose were they?

Yan Ze's voice came from behind Xu Hao, his chin resting heavily on Xu Hao's shoulder, his breath muddled. "Actually, what I said that day was a lie. I can't break up with you... it was all fake, just lies."

Xu Hao raised his hand, as if sensing something in the person behind him, and patted Yan Ze's head reassuringly.

Yan Ze let out a breath heavy with alcohol, eyes half-open, examining the small, drifting sparks of starlight in the endless darkness before him.

Never felt so clear-headed before. Never felt so intoxicated before.

Through his drunkenness, Yan Ze continued, "So no matter what, don't give up on me, okay?"

[swimuntilseaturnsblue]

Chapter 52

raw link：重生之真不挖煤_萝卜桑1著_长佩文学网

Zhang Xusheng originally wanted to treat Xu Hao and Yan Ze to dinner on behalf of the film crew, since they'd helped out. But both helpers declined.

On the way back, Yan Ze was still driving.

Xu Hao sat in the passenger seat responding to messages on his phone when Yan Ze suddenly asked, "How's the investment situation with Zhang Xusheng's film?"

Ever since that so-called helpful hug ended, because of a small incident, Xu Hao realized he might have accidentally touched one of those mysterious sensitive spots that men just understand. When they separated, things were somewhat awkward, but this physical awareness was subtle—Yan Ze had put on his signature dead-face expression that acknowledged no one, and probably nobody except Xu Hao noticed anything unusual. Afterward, Zhang Xusheng and Wang Haoran pulled Xu Hao aside to tease him, so he and Yan Ze hadn't actually spoken.

Xu Hao quickly finished typing the last few words on his phone, looked up, and thought for a moment. "Didn't ask, but there's probably a gap. I'd like to invest a bit, but Shengzi never brought it up with me. I guess the closer the friendship, the harder it is to ask for money."

Yan Ze tapped his fingers on the steering wheel a couple times. "Look how shabby their production is. If the director wants quality, the budget definitely won't hold. I'm guessing Zhang Xusheng is short by quite a bit."

Xu Hao's phone vibrated again. While checking the message, he smiled and asked Yan Ze, "You know about this stuff too?"

Yan Ze replied in a casual tone, "I check it out sometimes. Investing in films is like gambling—super high risk, fine for playing around." He glanced sideways at Xu Hao. "Who are you messaging that's making you so happy?"

Xu Hao hadn't realized he was smiling and quickly straightened his face. He looked up and met Yan Ze's gaze. "Eyes on the road—don't look around while driving."

Yan Ze looked back at the road but pressed, "Who is it?"

Xu Hao put his phone away. It was actually Wang Haoran messaging. Wang Haoran seemed to have figured out there was something between them and was afraid Xu Hao would get burned by Yan Ze. He'd been earnestly advising Xu Hao the whole way not to go down the wrong path, saying that if Xu Hao didn't listen, Yan Ze would eventually use him and discard him. It had made Xu Hao laugh. He knew Wang Haoran meant well, but how could there be talk of "using and discarding" between two men? Who needs to take responsibility for whose life? At worst, it would just be a peaceful breakup.

Xu Hao thought Wang Haoran had definitely watched too many 8 PM soap operas. With that straight-guy thinking, Xu Hao couldn't even communicate with him.

But now with Yan Ze asking who it was, Xu Hao didn't plan to tell the truth. These two already didn't get along—no need to create more conflict over rumors. Xu Hao said, "It's Andre. We sold a stock at the right time, so we're both happy."

Yan Ze glanced at him again. "You don't usually get this happy even when you make a lot." The implication was clear—he didn't believe this explanation.

Xu Hao hadn't expected Yan Ze to understand him so well, so he changed the subject. "We haven't gone out to play in a long time, have we?"

Sure enough, Yan Ze's attention was diverted. "You have time now?"

Xu Hao mimicked Yan Ze's typical posture, relaxing his body and sliding down the passenger seat, resting one elbow on the window ledge to look outside. "Even being young, I can't keep burning the candle at both ends like this. How about a weekend in Japan?"

Yan Ze stepped on the gas pedal a bit too hard. Xu Hao turned his head to remind him "Don't speed," but saw that Yan Ze looked very happy.

Yan Ze's eyes were dark and bright. He controlled the steering wheel with his left hand, unable to contain his excitement. "Sounds great!"

Xu Hao looked at him. "You seem to really like traveling."

Yan Ze smiled. "Yeah, whenever you can take a whole chunk of time off, I'd like to go on a road trip."

Xu Hao shrugged. "I can do it soon. Instead of Japan, why don't we take a road trip somewhere nearby in China? Where would you prefer to go?"

Yan Ze touched his nose and said, "Let's do the road trip." After a pause, he added, "Let me borrow you for a few days."

Xu Hao heard something else in that statement. In his previous life, he and Yan Ze had been to many places together and had planned several times to go on a proper road trip, but after they fell out, those plans were forgotten. Looking back, it seemed like Yan Ze had been fixated on the idea of a road trip with Xu Hao since that previous life.

Xu Hao didn't realize he'd accidentally spoken part of his reflection out loud until Yan Ze asked, "What previous life?"

Xu Hao was startled, but his mind worked quickly. He hurriedly said, "Oh, nothing. I was just reading an article about parallel universes recently." Xu Hao reorganized his thoughts and continued, "I was wondering if different life experiences really have such a big impact on one's path. The other day I had a dream kind of related to this, and you were in it."

Yan Ze stepped on the brake as the car stopped at a red light. "What did you dream about me?"

Xu Hao said, half-jokingly, "I dreamed that in a previous life, you were my best bro. I was completely loyal to you, and you specifically went after my girlfriend."

Yan Ze kept staring at the red light. Hearing this, he just laughed, not taking it to heart. "What a joke. If there were parallel worlds, I think the probability of me getting screwed over by you would be much higher. But who knows, it was your dream after all." After a pause, Yan Ze shifted gears and floored it when the light changed. "But if what you call 'loyalty' refers to the current situation, then I really don't know what I might do."

--

Xu Hao asked Yan Ze where he wanted to go for the road trip, and Yan Ze casually pointed to the Northwest.

Seeing that Yan Ze seemed pretty indifferent about the destination, Xu Hao decided to choose himself. Considering the time factor, and that he'd already done part of the Tibet route with Andre and Matthew, Xu Hao set their destination as Qinghai Lake.

The round trip would take about a week, passing through Xi'an where they'd make a detour.

They decided to take Xu Hao's X7, and Yan Ze had no objections. Before departure, Xu Hao bought a bunch of power banks, car chargers, flashlights, and umbrellas. Yan Ze prepared way more stuff—camping tents, a barbecue grill, car refrigerator, first aid kit, drone, food, and all kinds of outdoor gear. A couple days before leaving, Yan Ze even borrowed Xu Hao's car. Xu Hao wondered what he was up to, only to discover that not only had Yan Ze packed it full of equipment, he'd also installed a top-of-the-line car audio system, claiming it would "enhance the journey experience."

They left directly from Xu Hao's house on departure day, heading straight to the highway before switching drivers when tired. Driving this fully loaded car toward the highway entrance, Xu Hao thought that with all this preparation, people might think they were eloping to the North Pole.

Yan Ze, sitting in the passenger seat, kept fiddling with his newly installed sound system. Yan Ze asked, "What do you want to listen to?"

Xu Hao said, "Whatever."

Yan Ze played some rock music and asked, "How is it?" With those crisp highs and rich surround sound, Xu Hao felt like he'd walked into a movie theater and said, "Fucking awesome." Yan Ze looked pleased with himself.

The two chatted casually along the way. Xu Hao couldn't help but compliment Yan Ze's music taste—he liked rock too, and those penetrating vocals with energetic, chaotic drums were perfect for a road trip. Their conversation eventually drifted to Zhang Xusheng's movie. Yan Ze thought it was interesting and wanted to help Zhang fill the gap. Yan Ze said, "I just think the movie's pretty cool. If you feel awkward being caught in the middle, forget it."

Xu Hao replied, "I'm not uncomfortable at all. But still, thanks for asking me first—shows you're thinking about me. Appreciate it."

Yan Ze looked out the window. "Whatever, I just mentioned it casually. It's nothing."

This guy always played tough when Xu Hao complimented him.

The atmosphere remained relaxed as they chatted. They switched positions at a service area. Xu Hao estimated the timing—since they'd left early, they'd probably reach Xi'an before 8 PM. Then Xu Hao, now in the passenger seat, started messing with the sound system. He hit the wrong button, and suddenly a radio host's voice came through.

The radio seemed to be broadcasting some kind of youth nostalgia program. Before Xu Hao could figure out which button to press to switch back to Bluetooth, the song "Until the End of the World" started playing.

Xu Hao remembered loving this anime as a kid. As soon as the song played, all those youthful memories came flooding back. He decided to listen for a bit and asked Yan Ze, "Have you seen this?"

Yan Ze kept his eyes on the road. "Slam Dunk?"

Xu Hao was shocked. "Holy shit, you've watched it too?"

Yan Ze looked relaxed. "Watched it several times as a kid. It's partly why I got into basketball."

Xu Hao was even more surprised. "How did I not know this!"

Yan Ze smiled. "You never asked."

Xu Hao had always assumed he and Yan Ze had completely different childhoods, but now it seemed they had quite a bit in common. Xu Hao said, "Didn't anyone ever tell you that in high school you looked just like someone from Slam Dunk?" He'd wanted to say this in his previous life but had always held back, nearly bursting from keeping it in.

Yan Ze looked clueless. "Who?"

Xu Hao: "Uh, Rukawa Kaede."

Yan Ze was stunned. "Fuck, am I that much of a pretentious ass?"

Xu Hao: "Uh, you... do you have some kind of misunderstanding about yourself?"

The implication being: You were way more pretentious than him in high school, okay?

Yan Ze was seriously annoyed, unconsciously slipping into Cantonese: "M gau ngoh ah!" (Don't mess with me!)

Xu Hao was suddenly terrified by the increased speed. "Fuck, slow down! Don't get so worked up!"

[swimuntilseaturnsblue]

Chapter 51

raw link：重生之真不挖煤_萝卜桑1著_长佩文学网

Days rushed by like water you can't catch in your hands. The two of them carried on in this lukewarm relationship, neither having any complaints about the situation—pretty harmonious overall.

One day, Xu Hao got a phone call—Zhang Xusheng's movie had started shooting.

The caller was Wang Haoran. Wang Haoran had just returned from an exchange program, and some preliminary scenes for Zhang Xusheng's movie were being shot in S City, so Wang Haoran planned to invite Xu Hao to visit the set with him.

Xu Hao agreed over the phone, then seemed to suddenly remember something and turned to ask someone a short distance away, "Want to come?"

Wang Haoran heard another male voice through the phone—somewhat deep, somewhat nonchalant—asking Xu Hao, "Come where?"

Xu Hao explained, "Wang Haoran and I are visiting Zhang Xusheng's set. You know everyone anyway, so why not join us?"

Listening on the other end, Wang Haoran felt very confused, unable to figure out who might be talking to Xu Hao.

A moment later, Xu Hao's phone was taken by that man, who said, "Hey, Wang Haoran?"

Though completely bewildered, Wang Haoran politely responded, "Hello, yes, this is me. Sorry, but you are...?"

The man let out a short laugh through his nose, his voice very low, saying, "I'm Yan Ze."

Wang Haoran's hand holding the phone froze.

Yan Ze continued carelessly, "I'll be coming with Xu Hao. See you then?"

Wang Haoran's brow twitched like it had been stung, clearly noticing how Yan Ze emphasized the words "with Xu Hao" and "together," as if deliberately asserting some kind of claim. Wang Haoran also deepened his voice, saying, "Sure." After a pause, he added, "Put Xu Hao back on."

The call was immediately cut off.

Wang Haoran stood there frowning, feeling uncomfortable. He wondered, how did Xu Hao suddenly end up hanging with Yan Ze?

Not to mention they hadn't seen each other for many years—right after Xu Hao returned to China, Wang Haoran had warned him.

Don't get too entangled with someone like Yan Ze. That guy's a quicksand pit—once you step in, it's damn near impossible to pull yourself out.

Wang Haoran couldn't help but worry about this. Before high school graduation, at that hotpot gathering, Yan Ze's gaze still remained vivid in Wang Haoran's memory.

It was a gloomy and explosive soul, like a pot of hot oil—silent on the surface, but needing just one drop of water to explode.

Why wouldn't Xu Hao just listen?

--

Yan Ze sat on the sofa in Xu Hao's apartment.

Today was Saturday. When Yan Ze hung up on Wang Haoran, Xu Hao had been busy typing, communicating about work matters.

Xu Hao never really had the concept of days off. In their month and a half of dating, Yan Ze had gotten used to Xu Hao's self-destructive work habits, so Xu Hao hadn't paid attention to what Yan Ze and Wang Haoran had actually said.

Yan Ze played with Xu Hao's phone, letting it slide from one palm and catching it with the other.

Forty-one days of dating, total meetings—9 times.

Counting from before they got together, this was the fifth time he'd been to Xu Hao's place.

Yan Ze propped his temple with one hand, openly observing Xu Hao's expression as he worked, until Xu Hao hit the last space on his keyboard, looked up, and stretched his stiff neck. Then, belatedly, he looked toward Yan Ze. "Done with the call?"

The corner of Yan Ze's mouth curved into a slight smile. Twenty-five minutes and fifty-six seconds had passed since he'd hung up. Yan Ze put Xu Hao's phone on the table and said, "Said hello. I'm going with you."

Xu Hao sized up Yan Ze and said, "Why do I feel like you're not happy about it? If you don't want to go, forget it."

Yan Ze leaned his head back on the sofa, looking somewhat distracted. "I didn't say I don't want to go." After a moment, face toward the ceiling, he added, "Could you not be so close with Wang Haoran?"

Xu Hao had been about to get some water, but hearing this, he sat back down. "What did Wang Haoran ever do to you?"

Yan Ze glanced at Xu Hao, then looked away, saying, "That guy has dark thoughts." After a moment, he concluded, "Anyway, I don't like him."

Xu Hao thought to himself, Wang Haoran thinks you have bad intentions too and told me to stay away from you. Xu Hao couldn't understand what prejudices these two had against each other—they barely even knew each other, right?

Xu Hao said, "You can't just stop me from having friends because you don't like them."

Yan Ze lifted his eyelids. "I never told you to stay away from Zhang Xusheng, did I? I never told you to stay away from your two partners either, right? Wang Haoran is different."

Xu Hao looked at Yan Ze, confused, not understanding what made Wang Haoran different.

But he didn't want to dwell on it too much.

Xu Hao wouldn't distance himself from Yan Ze based on Wang Haoran's few words, and similarly, he wouldn't cold-shoulder Wang Haoran because of Yan Ze's prejudice. Xu Hao had his own internal scale—he thought and acted on his own terms and was rarely influenced by others' subjective opinions.

Xu Hao stood up and confirmed with Yan Ze once more, "You're sure you want to go, even with someone there you don't like?"

Yan Ze also stood up and said, "Go? Of course I'm going."

--

Shooting street scenes was challenging, especially for small-budget productions like Zhang Xusheng's.

So for this movie, they deliberately avoided the city center, choosing remote roads on the outskirts and old residential buildings where few people passed by.

Yan Ze was speeding down the highway in his black Lamborghini while Xu Hao sat in the passenger seat, reminding him for the eighth time: "You're over the speed limit."

Traffic was fairly light on the highway. Yan Ze responded with a noncommittal grunt, eased off the gas, tapped the brake, and properly fell in line behind a Toyota, driving in an orderly manner.

Xu Hao knew that if he didn't keep an eye on him, the speed would shoot up again. He rubbed his temple with a headache. This was exactly why he preferred to drive himself.

It wasn't that Yan Ze's driving skills were bad—it was that his skills were too damn good, making Xu Hao's heart unable to take it.

Checking the GPS, thankfully they were almost at their destination.

The car stopped by the roadside, and they got out to see two tracks and several machines laid out on the street. Xu Hao waved and called out, "Shengzi!"

Zhang Xusheng turned at the sound, his face lighting up. "Bro Hao! What are you doing here?"

Zhang Xusheng was about to sprint over for a bear hug when Yan Ze suddenly stepped out from behind Xu Hao, causing him to stumble and nearly fall flat on the ground.

Zhang Xusheng looked on in disbelief, half-bent over. "Holy shit, Yan Ze?"

Look at that reaction—identical to Xu Hao's back then, even the same exclamation. But Xu Hao figured Zhang Xusheng's expression must've been way dumber than his own had been.

Xu Hao draped his arm over Yan Ze's shoulder in a brotherly pose and said to Zhang Xusheng, "We're all old classmates. Brought him along to catch up. Wang Haoran isn't here yet?"

Zhang Xusheng said, "He's already here. Just went with the production team to buy drinks." Then he looked Xu Hao and Yan Ze up and down, grinning as he punched Xu Hao's shoulder. "Since when did you two get so close? Bro Hao, you've been doing guys behind my back!"

Yan Ze's mouth twitched, and even Xu Hao choked a bit. Xu Hao took his arm off Yan Ze's shoulder to push Zhang Xusheng. "Get lost, you idiot."

It happened to be break time on set. Yao Qingming walked over, and Xu Hao raised his hand in greeting. "Director Yao, good to see you again. Just visiting Shengzi on set. We're not disturbing you, are we?"

Yao Qingming still had that eccentric style today—wearing a baseball cap, a green cotton vest, and a pair of sneakers that looked like they hadn't been washed in ten years. He waved dismissively. "Not at all, not at all." Then, as Xu Hao turned to introduce himself to someone else, Yao Qingming glanced at Yan Ze beside him and asked, "And this is...?"

Zhang Xusheng jumped in before anyone else could speak. "He's also my high school classmate, same class as us. No joke, we were the backbone of the school basketball team. Other classes were so scared—they'd literally cry when they drew us in the tournament. Like this one time..."

Xu Hao and Yan Ze exchanged a look, both clearly thinking: Sure, we'll just stand here and listen to your bullshit.

Meanwhile, Yao Qingming wasn't actually listening to Zhang Xusheng's bragging at all.

He was quietly sizing up the two men in front of him.

It was December, and southern China was already quite cold.

Both men were about 6'1", with impressive builds. Xu Hao wore a heavy, dark gray cotton jacket over a high-necked gray-white sweater. His features were straightforward and bright. His friend wore a pure black coat over a high-necked black sweater, giving him an arrogant, aggressive air. Both had excellent taste in clothes, and according to Yao Qingming's always-proud sixth sense, their styles had similarities—either they were influencing each other, or they shared the same dresser.

When it came to something as intimate and subtle as clothing style, any mutual influence usually indicated either parent-child or romantic relationships. Even close brothers rarely affected each other to this extent.

With this thought, Yao Qingming quietly drew his conclusion, though he was somewhat surprised given his previous conversations with Xu Hao.

Yao Qingming never would have guessed Xu Hao was gay! Based on his impression, Xu Hao was so different from the conventional gay community!

But as a professional artist, Yao Qingming's appreciation for people and emotions always transcended gender. On one hand, he was shocked that he'd misjudged once, but on the other hand, he thought these two standing together were goddamn eye candy!

He was genuinely curious how two such figures had ended up together!

For the hundredth time, Yao Qingming lamented why Xu Hao didn't want to be in movies. If Xu Hao joined the cast, he might bring his boyfriend too—buy one, get one free. With their presence and this combination, they'd instantly outshine his current male leads. There'd be no reason they wouldn't become stars!

Suddenly inspired, Yao Qingming spoke up. "What a coincidence! We're actually short two extras today. It's simple—just stand there, strike a couple of poses, no costume change needed. The camera will follow the main character, and you'll be positioned far away, not even showing your full faces." Yao Qingming looked toward Xu Hao, who seemed more approachable, rubbing his hands together with a pretend-troubled expression. "Mr. Xu, what do you think? Would that work?"

Zhang Xusheng stopped mid-brag, looking at Yao Qingming in surprise as if to say: Do we actually have this in the plan?

Yao Qingming silenced his impending question with a killer glare.

Xu Hao hadn't expected this request from Director Yao either. He glanced at Yan Ze, wanting his opinion.

Xu Hao didn't mind helping out with this small favor. They wouldn't show their faces anyway—probably just walk through a scene, no acting skills required.

Yan Ze frowned slightly, but before he could say anything, Wang Haoran returned.

Wang Haoran looked at Yan Ze, and Yan Ze looked at Wang Haoran. It was hard to read their expressions, but clearly they both felt uncomfortable. Then Wang Haoran asked Zhang Xusheng, "What are you all huddled up discussing?"

Zhang Xusheng repeated Director Yao's request to Wang Haoran, who said, "Oh, no problem. I can help too. How about I do the scene with Haozi?"

Xu Hao thought that was fine—Yan Ze would definitely find this annoying, and he hadn't expected him to agree anyway. But before Xu Hao could respond to Wang Haoran, a hand suddenly reached out beside him.

Yan Ze raised his hand slightly to block Xu Hao, giving Wang Haoran an unfriendly look. "Not necessary."

Yan Ze glanced at Yao Qingming, then took a long stride, turning and throwing an arm around Xu Hao's shoulders to drag him away. "Come on, if you want to help, I'll act with you. It's just an extra role, right?"

Yao Qingming hadn't expected to succeed so easily. While mentally thanking Wang Haoran for the assist, he smacked his lips, thinking: Huh, Xu Hao's boyfriend is pretty damn possessive.

Well, once they got on set, they discovered that Yao Qingming wanted Xu Hao and Yan Ze to play a gay couple.

Since Xu Hao knew they were filming a gay movie, he wasn't too surprised by this request. After taking their positions on the street, Yan Ze stood facing him, and Xu Hao said, "Good thing you came to do this with me. If it had been Wang Haoran instead, I would've died from awkwardness."

Yan Ze snorted dismissively. "I told you not to get too close to that Wang Haoran."

Xu Hao told Yan Ze, "It has nothing to do with being close or distant. My relationship with him is completely different from my relationship with you. Do I really need to explain that?"

Hearing this, Yan Ze's lips curved up briefly before settling back down. With a straight face, he clicked his tongue and said, "Fine, I won't stoop to his level"—as if he were being incredibly magnanimous.

Xu Hao said, "It's not like you had anything to be upset about in the first place."

Yao Qingming's instructions were simple. He just wanted Xu Hao and Yan Ze to chat casually by the roadside, acting natural as if there were no camera. Since they were far away, there wouldn't be any sound recorded anyway, so they could talk about whatever they wanted.

Then, when the slate holder raised the sign again, they were to immediately embrace and hold it for thirty seconds. During this time, the male lead would be watching them from across the street.

In Yao Qingming's words, "Try to embrace like passionate lovers." Xu Hao and Yan Ze had no comment on this.

After waiting a while, the slate holder raised the big green board, and Xu Hao got the signal.

Xu Hao opened his arms and said to Yan Ze, "Let's do this."

Yan Ze stepped forward, and they embraced.

In the early winter, their breath formed small white clouds. Through their thick clothes, the embrace felt instantly full and complete—different from before. Holding Yan Ze, Xu Hao whispered near his ear, "What exactly does 'embrace like passionate lovers' mean?"

Yan Ze felt the wisps of white breath dispersing in front of his eyes. Despite the winter cold, his heart was burning hot. Yan Ze said, "No idea. Maybe just hold tighter."

So they held each other a little tighter.

About twenty seconds later, Xu Hao saw Yao Qingming behind the camera position, gesturing to him.

Yao Qingming had one arm raised against his own face, while the other made an embracing motion. Then he repeatedly lifted his head, turned his face to the side, and bent down in one direction, looking quite urgent, as if demonstrating for Xu Hao to follow his movements.

Xu Hao raised his head.

He looked somewhat puzzled in Yao Qingming's direction, then copied him by tilting his head slightly to the right, and as he pressed downward—

His lips touched Yan Ze's cold ear.

It looked just like a gentle kiss.

Xu Hao felt the outline of the ear beneath his lips suddenly flush with scorching heat.

Yan Ze's arms tightened fiercely, and Xu Hao heard him take a shaky, uncontrollable breath right next to his ear.

Xu Hao felt like his ribs were about to be broken by those arms.

[swimuntilseaturnsblue]

Chapter 50

raw link：重生之真不挖煤_萝卜桑1著_长佩文学网

After they'd collapsed on the sofa and chilled for a bit, Xu Hao suggested taking Yan Ze downstairs to check out the car and show him the parking spot.

From what Xu Hao knew about Yan Ze, he was actually a pretty restless, flashy person deep down—he just didn't like dealing with people, which made him seem cold and arrogant. Loving fast cars perfectly matched Yan Ze's nature. Xu Hao, on the other hand, wasn't that into sports cars. Although this Ferrari wasn't the newest model, it had been well-maintained, and giving it back to Yan Ze was putting it to its rightful use.

Going downstairs, Yan Ze kept his hands in his pockets and stubbornly insisted on walking behind Xu Hao. When Xu Hao told him to walk in front, he absolutely refused, pushing Xu Hao forward as though he couldn't even open his mouth properly, just kept insisting that Xu Hao walk ahead. Looking at Yan Ze's "would rather die than lose face" attitude, Xu Hao felt somewhat embarrassed for him. They ended up keeping their one-in-front, one-behind position all the way down the elevator to the garage.

The "Flamingo" was parked one spot behind Xu Hao's X7. From Xu Hao's angle, the Ferrari's body was partially hidden, with only a bit of its red edge showing.

Xu Hao suddenly reached back and grabbed Yan Ze's left arm, forcibly pulling them side by side.

Xu Hao tugged Yan Ze's elbow forward. "Since when did you get so shy? Didn't see you being shy when you were sending flowers."

Yan Ze was dragged all the way to the car, his thin lips pressed tightly together, still trying to hide his embarrassment by furrowing his brows to death. But the moment his eyes caught a glimpse of the car's edge, his gaze froze.

Following Xu Hao's lead a couple steps further, the entire car was exposed to Yan Ze's view.

Yan Ze licked his dry lips.

He'd owned the car for less than two years and had given it away without hesitation, but that didn't mean Yan Ze had no feelings for it.

This car had once been his pride and joy. But in an equivalent exchange, he'd traded it for the thin memories preserved in that notebook.

Ink breaking through paper, memories always vivid.

But now this person was standing right in front of him, and he'd returned the car.

And he was his boyfriend.

Yan Ze glanced at Xu Hao, who was leaning against his X7, his eyes containing a glimmer of warmth like the afterglow of dusk.

Probably sensing he was being watched, Xu Hao looked back.

Xu Hao's gaze was always straightforward. Looking at Yan Ze, he noticed that Yan Ze seemed both stunned and excited, as if staring at something blindingly brilliant. Even that habitual fierceness between his brows had dispersed, revealing sharp yet burning emotion.

Yan Ze raised his hands, opening his arms, his gaze intense and burning, yet he forced himself to pry open his dry lips with a deliberately casual tone: "Can I get a hug?"

Xu Hao smiled, and in Yan Ze's eyes, that warm glimmer in Xu Hao's gaze burned like wildfire.

Xu Hao stepped forward for their second embrace. As their flat, strong chests met, Xu Hao added some weight to his arms and said, "Sure, why not?"

Different relationship status meant no more half-assed hugs. Xu Hao hugged Yan Ze hard, even pounding his fist once on Yan Ze's back. Yan Ze's waist was straight and his back muscles well-defined, making the punch feel surprisingly good. "Let's find a time to play ball this week. Haven't been active for a while."

That punch finally pulled Yan Ze's mind back down from the clouds. He suddenly realized this was the most intimate physical contact the two had shared since they'd known each other. He tightened his arms forcefully, casually burying his face in Xu Hao's shoulder for a moment, getting a noseful of Xu Hao's familiar scent before answering hoarsely, "Sounds good."

--

Xu Hao and Yan Ze agreed to play ball Friday night. During their remaining work hours, their relationship was indeed as Yan Ze had described—both had plenty of personal time and space.

Their interaction pattern barely changed: no more than five messages a day, respecting each other's privacy, and minimal discussion of work matters.

They could still exercise and play ball together, occasionally do extreme sports, share basically the same interests, and chat effortlessly.

How had Xu Hao never realized dating a man could be this awesome??

Friday evening, Xu Hao was leaving his dad's subsidiary company in S City, about to get his car, when he noticed a middle-aged man standing in front of his vehicle.

Dressed in a suit, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, hair meticulously combed, carrying a briefcase—the very image of a social elite. He was checking his mechanical watch as if waiting for something.

Xu Hao walked over. The middle-aged man looked up and immediately flashed a formulaic smile at Xu Hao. He extended his hand and said, "Hello, Mr. Xu. I'm Zhang Leidong, a manager from the Shao Group. May I trouble you for a few minutes of your time?"

Xu Hao narrowed his eyes.

Of course he remembered Zhang Leidong.

He reached out and shook Zhang Leidong's hand amicably, putting on his own professional face as he suggested, "No problem. I know there's a decent coffee shop nearby. Perhaps we could sit there."

The two sat down in the coffee shop—same scenario, different location. Xu Hao realized how much he'd changed. In his previous life, when Zhang Leidong had found him, Xu Hao was at his lowest point, with his father facing multiple lawsuits that might land him in jail. Back then, despite his stubborn pride, Xu Hao could only bow his head in humiliation under the overwhelming pressure from the Shao Group. If the Xu Hao from his previous life met Zhang Leidong again, he might have punched him on sight.

And now, facing Zhang Leidong again, Xu Hao not only maintained his composure but could even engage in completely fake small talk with the man.

How much had changed between his previous life and this one? Xu Hao wasn't just walking a completely different path from his last life—even Yan Ze had become his boyfriend. Yet after all these twists and turns, with all the people working for the Shao corporation, they still sent this particular guy to deal with him.

Xu Hao thought fate could be pretty damn funny sometimes.

After the obligatory pleasantries, Zhang Leidong took out a manila envelope from his briefcase and placed it on the table between them. In a strictly business tone, he began, "Mr. Xu, let's not beat around the bush. I'm sure you know why I'm here today. In a sense, you and I are on the same side. Look, the young master has been making such big moves lately that even our old man has been disturbed. Young Master Yan is young, so acting on impulse is inevitable, but he's taken things too far. Mr. Shao feels we can't let him keep running wild like this."

As he spoke, Zhang Leidong pushed the manila envelope forward a bit more. "In here are several properties in England and the United States. You can sell them or live in them—your choice. The young master's message is that he doesn't want to see you again, so try not to come back to China if possible. You know how small this circle is—if Young Master Yan runs into you again and flies off the handle, the old man might not step in, and those of us below can't stop him. You seem like a smart kid. If not for yourself, think about your family's situation?"

Xu Hao had been nodding along at first, but the more he listened, the more bizarre it seemed. By the end, it was completely absurd. He barely managed to maintain his polite expression without cracking.

First of all, Xu Hao suspected Zhang Leidong was reciting from some template. Across two lifetimes, the guy had barely changed a few words—just copied and pasted the same script. Absolutely ridiculous.

Second, when Zhang Leidong opened with "you know why I'm here today," Xu Hao had assumed he was here about Xu Hao and Yan Ze's relationship. He thought, damn, Elder Shao's intel is sharp—they'd been keeping things super low-key. But then came that "the young master doesn't want to see you again" bullshit. What the hell? They literally had plans to play basketball together in half an hour.

Xu Hao patiently listened to Zhang Leidong finish, picked up the property documents from the table, pretended to look through them, then smiled politely at Zhang Leidong. "I fully understand the Shao family's generosity. However, Mr. Zhang, there's one thing I'm not clear about. You said I know why you're here, but I truly don't. So if I may ask, what exactly are you here for?"

Zhang Leidong clearly hadn't expected Xu Hao to remain so calm at this critical moment—showing absolutely no emotional reaction whatsoever.

Zhang Leidong suddenly felt the pressure of negotiation. This young man, barely twenty-five or twenty-six, maintained a polite and courteous tone throughout, even asking questions in a way that wouldn't offend—even after hearing such embarrassing statements.

This situation might not be as easy to resolve as he'd thought.

Zhang Leidong shifted his position and continued steadily, "How could you not understand why I'm here? I heard the young master pulled a gun on you? Over a woman?"

Zhang Leidong gave Xu Hao a deeply suggestive look.

Xu Hao couldn't help but laugh.

Oh, so that's what this was about.

Elder Shao didn't know they were together. He might not even know Yan Ze had met with him a couple days ago.

And Zhang Leidong was still trying to drive a wedge between Xu Hao and Yan Ze by framing them as romantic rivals.

Fair enough. After Lin Xiao's little scene that day, outsiders who didn't know the inside story would probably think Lin Xiao was Xu Hao's girlfriend. And when Yan Ze showed up with a gun, not giving anyone face—from the outside, it actually looked similar to what happened in his previous life. Two men and one woman—a beautiful woman at that. Anyone with eyes would assume the two men were rivals.

Plus, in this life, Xu Hao hadn't shown any signs of being gay. This was easy to verify—Xu Hao's three ex-girlfriends from Penn were all well-known beauties: busty, slim-waisted, innocent-looking gorgeous girls that any straight guy would love. Solid proof that Xu Hao's sexual orientation was straight as a steel rod.

That's why this divide-and-conquer tactic worked so well in his previous life. Anyone with half a brain would assume Xu Hao would be into someone like Lin Xiao.

But who could have guessed he'd lived a whole life before?

Now he not only had zero interest in Lin Xiao, he was barely interested in people at all.

Idealism is for the young. Adults need to be more practical.

Xu Hao sat up straight, placed the manila envelope back on the table, and said, "I understand."

Zhang Leidong looked up, thinking Xu Hao had agreed, but from his expression, he couldn't quite tell what Xu Hao was really thinking.

Xu Hao leaned back, folded his hands on his lap, smiled slightly and nodded. "I understand. What you're saying makes sense. The Shao family's generosity is almost too much—I'd feel guilty accepting it."

Just then, Xu Hao's phone on the side of the table started vibrating.

Without looking, Xu Hao knew who was calling. Before Zhang Leidong's attention could be drawn to it, Xu Hao casually picked up his phone.

Xu Hao continued, "It's just that in this matter, what you're saying might not necessarily reflect the thoughts of the person involved. Even if I accept your sincerity, I can't make any promises to you or to Shao Corporation. So I think you should keep this for now. Unless..."

Zhang Leidong frowned, his expression darkening as he asked, "Unless what?"

Xu Hao stood up, holding his constantly vibrating phone, and said, "Unless you have Yan Ze himself come to me and repeat what you just said. Then I'll accept whatever he gives. I have another appointment, Mr. Zhang. Sorry, I have to go."

Without waiting to see Zhang Leidong's reaction, Xu Hao left the coffee shop and walked a few steps before answering his phone.

On the other end, Yan Ze casually asked, "Are you here yet?" After making five frantic calls, he was still pretending like he hadn't arrived himself.

Xu Hao replied, "Hey, I'm stuck in traffic. My bad—forgot to check the time before I left. If you're already there, why don't you start warming up? I'll treat you to dinner tonight to make it up to you, okay?"

Yan Ze snorted, his mood seemingly lifting again. There was the sound of a basketball hitting the ground and bouncing back up. Yan Ze said, "Then I get to pick the place."

Xu Hao opened the car door and got in. "Fine, fine, fine, you pick, you pick."

[swimuntilseaturnsblue]

Chapter 49

raw link：重生之真不挖煤_萝卜桑1著_长佩文学网

Xu Hao：gong

Yan Ze：shou

When Xu Hao woke up again, it was noon the next day.

As he threw back the covers and sat up, his body still felt a bit weak.

Xu Hao climbed out of bed sluggishly. Last night's sweat had dried and then soaked through again, making his pajamas stick to his skin in a really uncomfortable way. Too lazy to unbutton them, Xu Hao just yanked his top off in one motion and tossed the crumpled mess onto the bed.

Bare-chested, Xu Hao moved slowly, shuffling toward the living room to find something to drink.

The living room was empty, but clearly someone had cleaned up. Xu Hao, eyes half-open, went to the kitchen for water. He ran a finger along the windowsill—the white tiles were polished to a shine, not even a speck of dust came off.

Xu Hao raised his glass to drink, and as he tilted his head back, he spotted a huge bouquet of flowers in the living room.

Vibrant red roses had been artfully arranged in a vase Xu Hao had never seen before.

His movements froze for a moment.

Now fully awake, he easily recalled the negotiation from early this morning.

—"So let's give us a try, then."

That's what he'd said.

Xu Hao had always been prepared to stand by his promises. That's life—every word you speak becomes an established fact in the other person's memory. Whether it's a promise made in the heat of the moment or an accidental hurt caused to someone else, the listener doesn't care if your brain was malfunctioning when you said it.

Xu Hao downed the rest of his water, adjusting his mindset. He thought:

Okay.

So now he's a guy with a boyfriend.

Fuck.

Boyfriend.

Whatever.

After this little self-pep-talk, Xu Hao set down his glass with reasonable composure and decided to make himself something to eat.

When he pulled open the refrigerator door, it was packed to overflowing with ingredients—fruits, vegetables, raw meat, prepared food, everything—even a whole row of beer. Xu Hao picked out two eggs from the bottom shelf.

Given his limited cooking skills, Xu Hao's specialty was making noodles for himself—the kind with seasoning packets, slightly healthier than instant noodles. Boil them, throw in two eggs, done.

Xu Hao carried his freshly cooked noodles to the dining table, picked up his chopsticks, and was about to eat.

Suddenly, the guest room door opened.

Yan Ze looked like he'd just woken up, his hair messy and defiant in all directions. He ran a hand through it and casually glanced outside.

Only to see Xu Hao with his upper body completely bare, wearing just pajama pants, one foot propped up on another chair in a completely undignified pose, with half a strand of noodles hanging from his mouth.

Xu Hao: ...

Yan Ze: ...

Completely unaware there was still someone in the guest room, Xu Hao silently put his foot back down and bit through the noodles in his mouth, thinking, Well this is fucking awkward.

But it was unavoidable. Yesterday Yan Ze had been up until 3 or 4 AM because of Xu Hao's illness—it was only right to let him stay over.

Besides, this was supposed to be his boyfriend now?

Fuck.

Boyfriend.

What attitude should he take toward this situation? Act normal and say hi? Be more enthusiastic than usual?

While Xu Hao was still processing this out-of-syllabus question, "BANG!"—the guest room door was slammed thunderously shut.

That complex emotion Xu Hao had been feeling instantly got knocked down a few notches by the door slam. He stared wide-eyed and grabbed another chopstick-full of noodles, thinking, What the fuck? Slamming it that hard—like it's not my door? Then it occurred to him, if this was just how Yan Ze acted, what was there to agonize over? Might as well just go with the flow and take it one step at a time.

Yan Ze, slamming the door in impulse, had completely lost control of his strength.

He turned and leaned against the door, his mind full of the image of Xu Hao looking up at him—

Xu Hao's broad shoulders, his long, powerful arms resting on the table, and below that, his evenly-proportioned wheat-colored muscles. No signs of deliberate bodybuilding, but still with clearly defined chest and abs. Long legs, one foot propped on the chair next to him—that perfect body on full, unobstructed display.

Yan Ze rubbed his face hard, feeling that a certain part of his body, which had been quite alert since early morning, was now about to fucking explode!

Xu Hao was still eating his noodles when "WHAM!"—the door was flung open again, nearly making him choke.

Yan Ze emerged from the room with a deeply furrowed brow, emanating the aura of someone about to start a street fight. Under Xu Hao's bewildered stare, Yan Ze growled in a husky voice, "I'm taking a shower," then started toward the bathroom with obvious irritation.

Xu Hao put down his chopsticks on the table and stood up. "Wait a second."

Yan Ze's hurried footsteps immediately stopped. Still determined, he managed to drag himself a few more reluctant steps forward, as if fighting against some biological instinct.

By now, Xu Hao had walked up to him.

Completely oblivious to his own bare-chested state, Xu Hao reached out and pushed Yan Ze's shoulder, then pointed to the guest room door. "Who are you taking your anger out on this early? The way you're slamming things, won't that door break?"

Yan Ze turned his head to look in the completely opposite direction from Xu Hao. This push seemed to make his body start to stiffen again. His tone sounded strangely hoarse: "I'm not angry."

Xu Hao said, "You're not angry? Not angry but nearly demolishing my place." After a couple of sentences, noticing Yan Ze's expression wasn't right, Xu Hao asked, "Are you feeling sick or something?"

After a few seconds of standoff with no answer, Xu Hao raised his hand and felt Yan Ze's forehead.

It was hot, and his hand came away sweaty.

Yan Ze recoiled as if branded by a hot iron, stumbling back a step and covering his forehead with his left hand. "What are you doing?"

Xu Hao took a look. The guy looked pretty healthy—didn't seem infected.

So Xu Hao raised his hand and patted Yan Ze's shoulder like a big brother would. While eating noodles earlier, Xu Hao had figured it out: since he was the one who'd said those words, there was no ambiguity about last night. All that was missing now was his confirmation. Xu Hao said, "Since we're boyfriends now, my home is half yours. If we break something, we fix it together, got it? Now go take a shower—there are towels on the rack." The message was clear: Xu Hao wouldn't use being sick as an excuse to pretend nothing happened and take back what he'd said yesterday.

Yan Ze didn't answer, just turned and walked toward another room. With Yan Ze's brain, Xu Hao wasn't worried about him missing the subtext.

Entering the bathroom in a daze, closing the door, Yan Ze stared at himself in the mirror.

Expressionless. Cold eyes. Looking both disgusted and arrogant at the same time.

Who would've guessed that the spot around his heart had nearly collapsed because of Xu Hao.

Things had gone too smoothly last night, so when Yan Ze woke up, he didn't have much confidence.

What if Xu Hao didn't own up to it? Was he really going to tie him up and lock him away or something?

Yan Ze turned on the water, braced both hands against the wall, feeling the cold water hitting the back of his neck like magma flowing over his body.

But Xu Hao had said "boyfriends."

Yan Ze lowered his head, trembling uncontrollably as he took a breath.

Fuck.

Boyfriends.

Now he really felt like tearing the place apart.

--

It took Yan Ze a while to get out of the bathroom—way too long for a guy's shower.

He had Xu Hao's towel draped over his head. Xu Hao had changed into pajamas and was fully dressed, with a box of tissues beside him as he fiddled with his laptop.

Yan Ze wiped the cold water from his hair and headed to the kitchen.

Xu Hao, blowing his nose, mumbled to Yan Ze, "There's noodles in the pot if you want. Thanks for yesterday."

Yan Ze, towel still on his head, scooped out the noodles and took a taste. Still warm, pretty bland—perfect for someone who's sick.

Yan Ze pulled over a chair and ate the noodles right there in the kitchen. Then he rinsed the pot with water and lit the stove.

When Xu Hao heard the sound of the stove being lit, he was genuinely shocked and called out, "What's up? Still hungry?"

Yan Ze's reply came back: "Mind your own business."

Damn, Yan Ze knows how to cook? Xu Hao was seriously worried this rich kid would burn his place down.

Just as Xu Hao was considering whether to go check, Yan Ze actually came out carrying a large bowl.

Yan Ze set the big bowl on the table in front of Xu Hao. Immediately, Xu Hao caught the scent of vinegar and saw egg flower soup with dots of sesame oil floating on top. He was filled with indescribable admiration. "Damn, bro, how do you know how to make egg and vinegar soup?"

Just... the portion was massive.

Xu Hao had been relaxed all morning, which had caused Yan Ze to loosen up too. He flopped onto the nearby sofa. "It's nothing. Super simple."

Xu Hao suddenly looked up. "Did you turn off the stove?"

Yan Ze's leg-crossing motion froze. "Of course I did!" Seeing Xu Hao stand up and head toward the kitchen, Yan Ze straightened up and called after him, "I really did!"

Xu Hao said, "I'm just getting a bowl. My grandma says this stuff cures colds and is good for your throat. Want some?"

He got the bowl, but they were both clumsy when pouring, and spilled quite a bit.

For Yan Ze's first cooking attempt, it actually tasted pretty good. Both guys finished their soup feeling satisfied.

Xu Hao leaned back on the sofa, patting his slightly bloated stomach, his eyes drifting to a potted plant in the living room. Suddenly remembering something, he sat up straight, slapped his leg, and said, "Damn, forgot to tell you something."

Yan Ze had his long legs stretched out loosely, lounging lazily on the sofa. Hearing this, he carelessly lifted his eyelids, watching as Xu Hao walked back to the bedroom. "What is it?"

Xu Hao dug through the laundry basket in his bedroom and found his wrinkled suit jacket. He felt the pockets and pulled out a car key.

Xu Hao tossed the key at Yan Ze, saying, "Look familiar?"

Yan Ze squinted as he picked up the key ring with his fingers.

When he recognized the car logo and shape, his eyes flew open wide and he bolted upright.

Yan Ze looked at Xu Hao in complete shock. "Holy shit, what's going on?"

Xu Hao looked back at him. "What's going on? I should be asking you that. Is this how rich people waste money?"

Yan Ze seemed a bit embarrassed by the question and awkwardly shifted his position. "How did it end up with you?"

Xu Hao sat down. "Coincidence. Ran into this car at an auction—price was crazy low, so I bought it."

Yan Ze clutched the car key and asked, "How'd you know it was my car? Who'd you run into?"

Xu Hao said, "Yeah, I ran into Jiang Shuyun. We made an even trade. I really..." Xu Hao gave Yan Ze a shove. "Let's not get into it. We're in this together now—grasshoppers tied to the same string. Don't pull any more of this weird shit, got it?"

Yan Ze reluctantly buried his head in a sofa cushion and gave a muffled response. Then he extended his hand toward Xu Hao. "Here."

Xu Hao looked at the car keys in Yan Ze's hand, mentally picturing that flashy color again. Too gaudy—completely clashed with his style.

Xu Hao didn't take them. "You keep it. It's yours now."

Yan Ze lifted his head from the cushion, turning to look at Xu Hao with a delayed reaction. "Huh?"

Xu Hao put the laptop from beside him onto his legs and said, "Even if you gave me this car, I couldn't drive it out the door. It suits you better. There are two parking spots downstairs anyway—you can take one from now on... Why are you looking at me like that?"

Yan Ze maintained his tilted head position, his gaze completely unguarded and defenseless. Then he used the back of his wrist that was holding the car keys to rub his eyes before throwing himself back into the cushion.

Yan Ze's voice was muffled. "Fuck."

Hearing his thoroughly displeased tone, Xu Hao thought it was funny how this tall, handsome guy was suddenly acting like a little kid. He asked, "What's your problem?"

Yan Ze rubbed his face hard against the cushion again, a slight nasal tone creeping into his voice as he grumbled, "Fuck, you're being way too good to me."

Xu Hao was speechless. He thought, Is this how someone gives a compliment?

Actually, before things went south in his previous life, this was basically the relationship they had—sharing food and drinks, speaking without restraint. Back in college in his last life, Xu Hao also lived in a high-rise apartment in downtown B City, 25th floor, with two parking spots below—one of which was Yan Ze's.

The only difference was that now they were boyfriends.

Huh.

Was being boyfriends always this easy?

Xu Hao relaxed, patting Yan Ze's shoulder-facing back with a gentle tone. "Alright, alright. It's not that big a deal."

[swimuntilseaturnsblue]

Chapter 48

raw link：重生之真不挖煤_萝卜桑1著_长佩文学网

Xu Hao：gong

Yan Ze：shou

Xu Hao parked his car in his apartment garage.

The fire-red Ferrari entering the space was so conspicuous among the mostly gray, white, and black cars—so flashy, so attention-grabbing—making Xu Hao feel a bit conflicted and uneasy.

Up the elevator, opened the door, entered the apartment. Physically and mentally exhausted, Xu Hao collapsed face-first onto his bedroom's medium-firm king bed. His suit felt stiff and constraining, but he was too tired to even wiggle a finger. He just lay there in one position, out cold.

He didn't know how much time passed before a phone call came in.

Xu Hao groggily fumbled for his phone. The screen glowed noticeably bright in the unlit room.

Caller ID: Yan Ze

Answering the call, Xu Hao's voice came out raspy. "Hello."

Yan Ze sounded like he was jogging or exercising, breathing heavily as he asked, "What's wrong with your voice?"

Xu Hao rubbed his aching temples, burying his head in the pillow and putting it on speaker. "Nothing. What's up?"

Yan Ze let out a low chuckle, his breathing still punctuated by footsteps. "Can't I check in if there's nothing? It's been half a month already... have you, whew... figured anything out?"

Xu Hao struggled to roll over on the bed, finally managing to shrug off his suit jacket. Then he weakly tried to loosen his tie. "Nah, been busy as hell lately."

Yan Ze caught his breath again, sounding like he was stepping up something. "I feel like your voice is off. Are you sick?"

Tugging at his tie without success, Xu Hao mumbled listlessly, "Don't think so. Probably just tired—been burning the midnight oil too hard lately."

Yan Ze's breathing slowed, like he was walking now. "Alright then. Get some rest?"

Xu Hao lay back on the bed, running his hands through his hair with a "mm," when suddenly the doorbell rang.

Still holding his phone, Xu Hao dragged himself off the bed with difficulty, stumbling toward the door. "Gotta go, someone's at my door. I..."

Before he could finish, Xu Hao opened the door and was nearly blinded by a massive burst of red.

Not finishing his sentence, he put down the phone and stared expressionlessly at the enormous bouquet of red roses—probably several hundred—blocking his entire doorway. It was so big he couldn't even see the person behind it.

The lively, attention-seeking color of these flowers effortlessly reminded him of the Ferrari parked downstairs. Xu Hao faintly felt the blood vessels near his temples threatening to burst.

To keep the call connected, Yan Ze had run up the stairs the whole way, sweating now with his breathing finally evening out. He tried several times to find a way to hold the flowers facing forward while showing his face, but gave up and just hoisted the bouquet over his shoulder like an assault rifle.

One hand braced against Xu Hao's door, the other shouldering the flowers, wearing that innate rebellious smirk, Yan Ze said, "Yo, long time no see. How about letting me in for some tea?"

But when he saw Xu Hao's current state, Yan Ze's breath caught, nearly choking on his words. All his rehearsed lines went to shit.

Right then, Xu Hao had his white shirt collar unbuttoned two buttons, tie hanging loosely around his neck, dress pants slightly wrinkled. His hair was disheveled and messy, eyes bloodshot, face flushed with a sickly red—his entire being radiating the aura of someone both abstinent and recently ravaged.

But completely at odds with this vibe, Xu Hao looked utterly exasperated, ready to kick Yan Ze. "What the fuck... what are you doing?"

Yan Ze stood dazed by the sight before him, completely derailed from his plan. He straightened up, awkwardly clutching the flowers to his chest, looking even more clueless than when Xu Hao had sent his first-ever bouquet. "Nothing, just... delivering flowers, I guess..."

Xu Hao pointed at his own forehead, sounding somewhat unhinged. "I'm a fucking guy—what are you sending me this many roses for? To make fucking rose tea?"

Yan Ze stood there holding the flowers like a scolded child. "So... what should I have sent?"

Xu Hao lowered his hand, giving Yan Ze a weak, resigned look.

After staring for a while, besides his head feeling like it might explode, it did absolutely nothing.

Xu Hao rubbed his face and turned to walk inside. "Whatever, just come in."

Yan Ze walked in clutching his massive bouquet. Even though this was his second visit to Xu Hao's place, he still felt a bit awkward standing at the entrance.

He tried covering this awkwardness by furrowing his brow. Yan Ze followed behind Xu Hao with a frown, looking annoyed about something as he sat on the couch, still clinging to the flowers with stiff movements.

Xu Hao sat on the couch next to him, casually ripping off the tie hanging around his neck, then rubbed his aching head. "Help yourself to tea. I'm too beat to make any."

Yan Ze's frown stayed put, eyes fixed on the flowers. "I think you're sick." He paused, reaching for his phone. "I'll call a doctor to check on you."

Xu Hao raised his hand. "No need." His head felt dizzy, looking at Yan Ze with slightly red eyes. "You have nothing better to do tonight?"

Yan Ze put his phone down and glanced at Xu Hao, his gaze quickly darting away like he'd been shocked. His voice turned slightly hoarse too. "No, but... if you're sick, why didn't you call anyone?" He picked up his phone again. "Still should get someone to check on you."

Moving slowly, Xu Hao grabbed Yan Ze's phone and pulled it away with barely any force. "Really, I'm fine. If you're free, help me find a thermometer and medicine. Oh, and fever patches—should be around here somewhere." Xu Hao gestured vaguely around the living room. "In the drawers or that cabinet below. I've barely been sick my whole life—just pop a pill and I'll be good."

Yan Ze casually tossed the flower bouquet onto the sofa and started rummaging through cabinets in the direction Xu Hao pointed. Xu Hao directed from behind, "Up there! Check behind that box?"

Yan Ze dug out a dusty first aid kit from a pile of random stuff, coughing while brushing off the dust, looking thoroughly disgusted. "Shit, how long has it been since you used this? Is it expired?"

Xu Hao walked over and crouched beside Yan Ze to open the box, feeling a bit uncertain. "Probably not."

Opening it, everything was in English. The two studied the production and expiration dates carefully in the light and found nothing wrong. Xu Hao rinsed the thermometer in the sink, wiped it with alcohol, and stuck it in his mouth before going back to his room to change into pajamas.

When he came out again, hot water was already being prepared in the kitchen. Xu Hao, thermometer still in his mouth, saw that Yan Ze had somehow found some fruit in the fridge and was now attempting to slice a lemon.

Being unfamiliar with the task, Yan Ze leaned forward, wielding the knife with excruciatingly slow downward cuts, his cautious attitude making it look like he was conducting some delicate chemistry experiment. Xu Hao found his technique almost laughable, but was suddenly touched by the effort. He walked over and said, "Come on, why are you cutting lemons? Does eating lemons cure fevers?"

Yan Ze frowned, his expression dead serious, not relaxing his focus one bit. "You need to drink lots of water when you have a fever, and water tastes better with something in it."

Ha! When had Young Master Yan ever done this kind of work? Xu Hao watched his hair-raising cutting technique, genuinely afraid he'd slice his fingers. "Can you even handle this...?"

Yan Ze straightened up and used his free hand to give Xu Hao a push. "What's there to handle? It's super simple. Go lie down on the bed."

Xu Hao's mouth twitched. Super simple, yet you're cutting that lemon like it's a hand grenade.

He took the thermometer out of his mouth and held it up to the light, studying it for a while before making out the reading: 39.2°C.

Xu Hao was surprised. He'd only felt some body aches and a heavy, dizzy head, but his spirits seemed okay. He had no idea his fever was this high.

What he didn't realize was that his reaction time was noticeably slower than usual.

Half-opening his eyes, Xu Hao started shuffling back toward the bedroom, then collapsed face-first onto the bed, lying on his side without moving.

Still with the thermometer in his mouth.

Not long after, Xu Hao felt someone turn him over and remove the thermometer.

Then his body was shifted, and a blanket was laid over him.

A warm, dry palm pressed against his forehead.

In his foggy state, Xu Hao thought his mother had come. When Xu Hao had fevers as a child, his mother would always check his temperature this way, and then his grandmother would make him egg vinegar soup.

In his dazed state, Xu Hao grabbed the hand that was about to withdraw, clearly feeling it freeze in place.

Xu Hao half-opened his eyes at the blurry figure. "...Mom, where's my egg vinegar soup?"

The hand obviously stiffened even more.

Shortly after, several people arrived. Someone pulled back Xu Hao's eyelids and gave him an injection in the arm.

Vaguely, he heard a man in the living room asking others, "Do you know how to make egg vinegar soup?"

A moment later, the man said, "You do your thing, don't mind me. I just want to see how it's made."

Xu Hao fell into a deep dream.

In the middle of the night, half-asleep and half-awake, Xu Hao rolled over onto his back, feeling that he'd sweated a lot. The fever must have broken.

The bedroom door suddenly opened, and a sliver of light cut through one corner of the darkness.

Someone walked in.

Having just recovered from the fever, his body was exhausted, and given that it was probably the early hours of the morning, Xu Hao didn't know what this person wanted and kept his eyes closed.

Yan Ze entered, making almost no sound. He didn't wake Xu Hao but sat down on the floor near the edge of the bed.

In the dimness, Yan Ze looked at Xu Hao's profile.

Then he reached out and very, very gently placed his palm over Xu Hao's right hand that was hanging off the edge of the bed.

As if holding something fragile, not daring to apply pressure, his palm restrained itself to just briefly clasping Xu Hao's hand before letting go.

After this, Yan Ze remained seated in the same spot with no sign of leaving. Xu Hao didn't dare roll over, afraid of giving himself away, which made pretending to sleep quite uncomfortable.

A moment later, a layer of warm, dry skin suddenly touched Xu Hao's lips.

Xu Hao's eyelid twitched.

It was the feeling of a fingertip—touching and then gone.

Yan Ze placed the finger that had touched Xu Hao's mouth lightly against his own lips, his tone low, gentle, like a prayer: "Goodnight."

...

Xu Hao abruptly threw off his cotton blanket and sat up like a corpse rising.

He turned on his bedside lamp and looked at Yan Ze.

Yan Ze was sitting cross-legged by the bed, and seeing Xu Hao's sudden movements, his expression froze in shock.

Xu Hao also sat cross-legged, turning to face Yan Ze. When he spoke, his voice was extremely hoarse: "Come on, let's talk."

Yan Ze maintained his startled expression, taking a long time to find his voice, starting to stutter: "Uh, you're—you're better? So quickly?"

Xu Hao raised his hand. "Whether I'm better or not doesn't matter. I think we can't go on like this. You..."

Yan Ze suddenly leaned forward, his hand stopping in front of Xu Hao, cutting him off: "Wait."

Xu Hao looked at him.

Yan Ze, hand still raised, forced himself to appear calm: "Wait, don't speak first, let me say something. I've been thinking about this for a long time. Actually, I wanted to tell you when I first got here today, but your illness put it on hold. It's like this—first, I think you shouldn't consider our relationship too complicated."

Xu Hao looked at Yan Ze with foggy consciousness, thinking, Isn't this complicated enough already?

Yan Ze made a gesture with his hand, fully adopting a negotiating posture, and continued, "Look, between us—you and me—two guys, right? We each have our own lives and careers, we're both busy, and honestly don't have much energy for all that extra stuff. Dating is annoying, takes effort, takes time, and besides, it's not like you have someone you like. But if you're with me, you know what's great? You don't have to spend time with me at all. Our relationship would be exactly like it is now, you get it? When we have time, we grab a meal together. When we don't, we do our own things. We're already so in sync playing basketball—we could do that on weekends. Neither of us would take up too much of the other's time. Private space stays absolutely private. Plus..."

Xu Hao thought: ...Not taking up each other's time and space? Isn't that his fucking ideal relationship? But do relationships like that even exist in the real world??

Yan Ze licked his lips and continued, "Plus, if you decide it's really not working out, we can just break up..."

Xu Hao's expression was skeptical. His brain wasn't firing on all cylinders, and his thoughts were struggling to keep up. "...For real?"

Yan Ze avoided looking at Xu Hao, continuing insincerely, "Yeah, for real. It's just trying it out, not asking you to get married. Besides, if you really can't accept it, we can keep it between just us two. Don't have to tell anyone else."

Xu Hao rubbed his muddled head, his reaction delayed, "But... what if I can't handle doing... you know... with a guy? Don't people who date have to hug and kiss and stuff..."

Yan Ze coughed sharply a couple times, his gaze drifting to the floor. "We can totally avoid all that... it's not like we have to do anything... I've never dated a guy either, okay..."

Xu Hao was surprised. "So you're into platonic relationships? Damn, bro, that's hardcore." He'd completely forgotten about someone's finger indirect-kissing him just moments ago.

Yan Ze: ...gave Xu Hao a silent, complicated look.

Xu Hao thought for a moment, and somehow figured this actually didn't sound so bad. "Alright then."

It was Yan Ze who was taken aback this time. "W-what alright?"

Xu Hao ran his fingers through his sweaty bangs. "The way you put it, sounds like I've got nothing to lose. Let's give it a try. I was actually about to say, keeping things hanging like this isn't working. Either we lay it all out in the open, or you know, we stop being friends altogether. But I never expected your views on love to be so... enlightened. Since that's the case, let's try it."

Yan Ze went still for a moment, stopping himself from suddenly standing up.

He forced a smile, quite reluctantly, then took several deep breaths and said, "Okay then."

Even though Xu Hao's brain was clearly foggy today, which seemed a bit like taking advantage of him...

Yan Ze just felt like those twenty-plus days of drafting his pitch hadn't gone to waste. This wasn't being "enlightened" about love—he just knew Xu Hao's personality too damn well.

But who would've thought it'd actually work? Fuck!

[swimuntilseaturnsblue]

Chapter 47

重生之真不挖煤 by 萝卜桑1

Wildfire (Rebirth: I’m Really Not Mining Coal)

raw link：重生之真不挖煤_萝卜桑1著_长佩文学网

Xu Hao set up an office for himself in his dad's company headquarters, calling high-level meetings five, six, seven, eight times a week over financial issues. If he didn't understand something, he'd ask; if he had ideas, he'd speak up. After two weeks, the executives couldn't handle it anymore. Looking at the bills that flowed money like water, the buying and selling stocks for no apparent reason, the executives were once again convinced this company was doomed.

Xu Hao left the office building, got a call from Andre at 11 PM.

Xu Hao felt his work was seriously overloaded lately, plus he hadn't been sleeping much. When he went to get his car from the parking garage, he felt a bit dizzy.

First, he chatted with Andre about their recent investment progress, then Andre started complaining for the umpteenth time about Xu Hao not stopping by to see him during his last trip to Switzerland. Xu Hao told Andre in English with a bitter smile, "Dude, I've been wishing I could split myself into ten people lately. Add you, and we'd have enough for a soccer team. Don't bust my balls about this."

Andre laughed freely on the other end. "Haha, you're still so funny. I'm almost done here. Matthew's graduating in a few months too. If you won't come to us, we'll come to you."

Xu Hao pulled open his car door and told Andre, "We'll see when the time comes. Once I'm free, maybe we can meet up in Europe."

They shot the shit for a bit more when Xu Hao felt his phone vibrate—a message from He Fusheng reminding him not to forget tomorrow's auction.

Xu Hao smacked his forehead, thinking time flies so fast, he'd completely forgotten about it.

--

The next day, Xu Hao showed up at the auction in a full suit. He Fusheng was also dressed formally as they met up at the entrance right on time. He Fusheng sized up Xu Hao and said, "What's wrong? Didn't sleep well?"

Xu Hao rubbed his temples. He'd been drinking coffee until 3 AM yesterday and was feeling a bit tired now, throat somewhat scratchy. But this had been the norm lately, so he was getting used to it. "It's fine. Let's go in."

He Fusheng walked in on the red carpet, briefing Xu Hao on the auction setup, then led him to an inconspicuous little box to the side. "Today's auction is pretty interesting. Prices won't be too high—mostly little trinkets collected from civilians, mostly art pieces. All kinds of people here, not everyone knows their stuff. If you see something you like, just buy it. You might score something good."

Xu Hao poured himself some tea, leaning back on the soft couch to relax his body. "Not trying to be modest here, but with my taste in art? Forget it."

He Fusheng just smiled without saying anything.

The auction started. Photos flashed across the big screen—four-figure jade pieces, six-figure paintings. But price wars mostly maxed out around 400,000 before the gavel fell. Xu Hao sat on the couch getting drowsy. Occasionally something decent would come up and people would bid pretty intensely.

He Fusheng bought a painting for 150,000, two antique coins for 60,000, putting down his paddle with satisfaction. When he turned to see Xu Hao's eyes nearly closed, he reminded him, "If you're tired, go home and rest."

Xu Hao forced himself to sit up straight. Since he'd come all this way, no point leaving halfway through. "I'm good, I'm watching. Pretty interesting actually. I want to buy something too."

More than halfway through the auction, Xu Hao randomly raised his paddle a few times and somehow won, stupidly buying an ashtray for 230,000. He Fusheng's expression was... interesting. The manager came for Xu Hao's signature, and he scribbled something illegible. He Fusheng said, "Your taste is definitely... unique."

Xu Hao looked at the unremarkable ashtray photo on the receipt, his mouth twitching, thinking what the fuck made this thing valuable—the seller must be laughing their ass off right now!

After Xu Hao signed and handed it to the manager, the auction downstairs was nearing its end. The host built up massive suspense for the finale, rambling about irrelevant shit before the stage curtain finally pulled back.

Xu Hao and He Fusheng's attention followed the crazy music to center stage.

When the big-ticket item being wheeled up became clear, He Fusheng whistled and said, "I didn't even know these things existed. What do you think?"

He Fusheng turned to look at Xu Hao and found him completely dazed. He gave Xu Hao a gentle push. "Hey, don't space out. You into cars?"

Xu Hao snapped back to reality, staring at the car below, momentarily unable to process what he was seeing, his expression utterly shocked.

Being wheeled onto the stage was a Ferrari, its color bold and intense, an HY-KERS system model, standing center stage like a flamingo with folded wings.

The host began calling out the starting bid: 800,000!

Hearing the price, Xu Hao nearly dropped his phone.

Either the organizers had no clue about pricing, or they were worried about the limited funds of most attendees. This Ferrari was a global limited edition—under a hundred produced total. You'd be lucky to find a second one in all of China. 800,000? Through normal channels, you couldn't even buy the car's shell for that.

Most importantly, the exterior film and some design elements bore traces of private customization. Xu Hao would bet his life you couldn't find an identical second one anywhere in the world.

In his previous life, Xu Hao had driven this car.

This was Yan Ze's car.

How could it show up at an auction like this with a starting bid of 800,000?

It was completely mind-boggling. Xu Hao couldn't imagine any reason why Yan Ze would sell. Yan Ze was the type who'd let it rot in his possession rather than sell his beloved son* (*the car).

People continued bidding below: 850,000, 900,000, 950,000, 970,000, 990,000. Xu Hao felt like he could barely listen anymore.

Xu Hao raised his bid paddle. "2 million."

The room fell silent for ten seconds.

The auctioneer hammered, "2 million once!"

A counter bid from below: "2.05 million!"

Xu Hao raised his paddle again. "3 million." He Fusheng's surprised gaze shot over.

This silence lasted longer. The auctioneer stretched out his call: "3 million once—3 million twice—"

Another counter bid, this time the voice sounded weaker with some frustrated anger mixed in: "3.1 million!"

Xu Hao raised his paddle, his voice remaining calm throughout. "4 million."

Right, this time the room went completely silent.

The auctioneer smoothly hammered it down thrice. He Fusheng laughed in disbelief. "I thought you weren't interested in this auction, but turns out you spend like crazy."

Xu Hao also smiled, thinking there was definitely something sketchy going on. Even just to buy himself an answer, he'd spend this money. Besides, 4 million for this car was pure profit anyway.

The manager approached Xu Hao again for signatures. He accepted the paperwork and said to the manager, "I wonder if I could make one special request."

The manager was extremely polite, asking with a smile, "What do you need, sir?"

Xu Hao signed the papers and handed them back. "I'd like to meet the seller. If necessary, I'm willing to pay extra. It's just a car, not some sensitive merchandise. Meeting the previous owner for a quick chat should be fine, right?"

The manager hesitated before saying, "Please hold on a moment while I check."

He Fusheng found it odd. "You've already bought the car—what difference does meeting the previous owner make?"

Xu Hao set down his teacup—the tea had long gone cold. He said, "It's a long story."

This answer told nothing. Seeing Xu Hao wasn't eager to explain, He Fusheng didn't push further. Soon, the manager returned, "Sir, the seller agreed to meet. He's backstage handling transfer paperwork. Please follow me."

Xu Hao said goodbye to He Fusheng and followed the manager.

Through a side door backstage, they emerged to an open plaza-like area. In the distance, Xu Hao spotted the fire-red Ferrari parked in the clearing, with a male figure standing in front of it.

He looked about Xu Hao's age, not very tall, with a lean build.

As Xu Hao approached with the manager, the man turned at the sound.

Xu Hao stopped dead in his tracks.

The man, on the other hand, almost instantly recognized Xu Hao. He stepped back, his eyes filled with confusion and shock.

Xu Hao continued forward, frowning with a completely baffled expression, greeting the stunned man, "Jiang Shuyun, you?"

Jiang Shuyun's body trembled involuntarily. He murmured, "Xu Hao." Then Jiang Shuyun looked back at the car with confused eyes before suddenly ducking his head.

Jiang Shuyun covered his face and crouched down, his voice on the verge of tears. "Xu Hao, why does it have to be you?"

Xu Hao was already full of questions, and this startled him. "Whoa, I haven't even asked anything yet. Why are you crying?"

Jiang Shuyun shook his head, face covered. "No, it shouldn't be like this. I can't accept it, I really can't."

Xu Hao was already in poor spirits, and now he had a headache, thinking this wasn't some melodrama. He said helplessly, "I just came to ask—this car isn't yours, right? Of course, whether you sell it or not has nothing to do with me. I just want to know why Yan Ze's car ended up in your hands."

Jiang Shuyun looked up at the sound, his eyes red from crying like a rabbit, stammering, "You—you and Yan Ze, are you still in contact?"

Xu Hao thought, More than just contact—he fucking confessed to me at gunpoint.

Xu Hao said nothing.

Jiang Shuyun lowered his head again, buried in his hands, sobbing, "I'm sorry, Xu Hao, I really didn't mean to. I never wanted to touch this car, but I really need money lately. I..."

Xu Hao rubbed his temples. Hearing him rambling off-point—a grown man in his twenties, what's all this crying for—his tone grew irritated. "I'll definitely pay. Just answer one question: why is Yan Ze's car in your hands? Is this question that hard?"

Jiang Shuyun hiccupped from crying at Xu Hao's words, wiping his face. "He... he traded it to me."

This was said extremely quietly, strangely with some guilt mixed in. Xu Hao barely heard it.

"It was not long after you went abroad, Yan Ze came to find me... he, he said..."

Jiang Shuyun squatted on the ground, face streaked with tears, looking up at Xu Hao.

They hadn't met since high school. He'd thought they'd never see each other again. Looking up, the sunlight was blindingly bright. Xu Hao still looked largely the same, now giving him this straightforward yet strange look.

Jiang Shuyun lowered his head again. "Yan Ze took away my most precious possession, then threw his car keys on my desk. He said... equivalent exchange, he wasn't taking advantage of me. The car was downstairs. Then he left."

Xu Hao was even more surprised. What could Jiang Shuyun have that was worth Yan Ze trading this car for? "Equivalent exchange? What treasure of yours is worth this much?"

Jiang Shuyun gritted his teeth and spat out three words: "The notebook."

Xu Hao looked completely puzzled: "What thing?"

Jiang Shuyun suddenly raised his head and shouted, "The notebook! The notebook, it's your notebook!"

It took Xu Hao a moment to process. Then, his expression went dead silent.

Calling it a "notebook" was giving that thing way too much credit. What Jiang Shuyun had randomly grabbed back then was just Xu Hao's scratch pad for in-class calculations.

This fucking... what equivalent exchange my ass.

[swimuntilseaturnsblue]

Chapter 46

重生之真不挖煤 by 萝卜桑1

Wildfire (Rebirth: I’m Really Not Mining Coal)

raw link：重生之真不挖煤_萝卜桑1著_长佩文学网

Xu Hao：MC gong

Yan Ze：ML shou

Xu Hao stepped back, silently cursing.

Even with some mental preparation, Xu Hao was still blindsided by Yan Ze's actions. In the autumn wind laced with gunpowder, Xu Hao took a breath, forced himself to stay calm, and began analyzing the situation. Yan Ze was holding a cocked gun. Those two gunshots had been extremely loud—definitely enough to alert others. But for now, no one else was around, and Yan Ze's words had only been heard by Xu Hao and maybe half of Lin Xiao.

Why half of Lin Xiao? Because she was already collapsed on the grass, her face showing the expression of someone whose entire worldview had just shattered. Xu Hao wasn't sure how much of what was just said she'd actually processed.

Xu Hao looked back at Yan Ze, his rationality gradually taking over. "Calm down and put the gun away."

Yan Ze's gun hand didn't move. Completely opposite to Xu Hao's rationality, Yan Ze glared at him, his eyes revealing pure obsession from the inside out. He felt the gunfire exploding recklessly in his chest, his throat burning with searing pain. Yan Ze had imagined how Xu Hao might react in this situation: disgust, anger, sarcasm, contempt—certainly not happiness. Or maybe with that reluctant yet polite smile, rejecting him, ignoring him, pushing him away, looking at him coldly. Or perhaps pressing the still-warm gun against his throat, the barrel against that most fragile, softest bit of flesh, like the final judgment, a bullet tearing through brain tissue straight to the heart.

After saying all that, he didn't care anymore.

But Yan Ze hadn't expected Xu Hao to be so calm. Not excited, not surprised, not resistant, and without politeness or reluctance either. Yan Ze's entire left arm suddenly began to ache uncontrollably. He opened his mouth, feeling his vocal cords scrape like sandpaper: "I'm not fucking joking with you."

Xu Hao stepped forward, again pressing down on Yan Ze's left wrist. "I didn't say you were." After a pause, Xu Hao calmly repeated, "Put the gun away."

The autumn night was bright with moonlight, and Xu Hao's eyes looked like flickering light at the bottom of the sea. Yan Ze felt a dreamlike sensation of drowning suddenly wash over him, that acidic pressure nearly bursting his heart. In that instant, he seemed to return to that night when the star fell.

The gun barrel dropped with his weakening arm. Yan Ze looked at Xu Hao, his heart burning like it might bleed, yet gradually giving way to an absurd, almost masochistic pleasure. Yan Ze's lips twisted into a smile as he thought, Xu Hao, between you and me, I've never been the one holding the gun.

Xu Hao saw Yan Ze's face full of desolation and bitterness, like he might charge off and fight someone to the death at any moment. Xu Hao felt an incredible headache coming on. He wondered if the heavens were jealous of how well his life had been going, because in the end, his guess had been right. But even so, Xu Hao thought, okay, so you like me—did you really need to make it feel like you're about to storm a bunker?

Seriously?!

Just as he was thinking this, people approached from a distance.

A line of bodyguard-looking men in black carrying bulletproof shields, with Xue Shanqi protected in the middle. Several dozen people were heading their way.

Xu Hao firmly controlled Yan Ze's wrist with one hand while quickly removing the gun with his other, preventing any accidental discharge in the crowd. Though not particularly skilled, Xu Hao at least knew how to handle it. Gun pointed at the ground, finger away from the trigger, safety on, magazine ejected to remove the bullets.

Four bullet heads gave off a cramped, cold gleam in Xu Hao's hand. He closed the magazine and put the bullets in his pocket. By now, Xue Shanqi's group had reached them.

Xue Shanqi was startled to see the three main characters: Lin Xiao sitting on the ground shivering, and Xu Hao and Yan Ze in what looked like a tense standoff.

Even someone as socially adept as Xue Shanqi was confused at this moment. Slightly flushed from drinking, she first waved away the gathered bodyguards and sent someone to help Lin Xiao up. Then, hand on her hip, she walked over to Yan Ze and Xu Hao. "What are you two doing? Did you team up to crash my party?"

Xu Hao tucked the gun into his waistband and quickly adjusted his outfit, his suit jacket conveniently hiding the weapon. Given Yan Ze's current state, he was in no condition to talk to others. Xu Hao apologetically took the lead: "Sorry about this, Miss Xue. We won't ruin your evening any further. We're leaving now."

As he said this, he took a step, but noticed Yan Ze was still standing in place. Xu Hao pushed him slightly. "Let's go."

Yan Ze, pushed by Xu Hao, rubbed his eyes and followed behind him with an aura of barely contained aggression.

Watching the two men walk away, Xue Shanqi was dumbfounded. They're just leaving like that? Since when did Yan Ze ever listen to anyone?

As they walked out, Xu Hao spoke to Yan Ze. "Let's talk." After a pause, Xu Hao turned around. "Got a cigarette?"

Yan Ze suddenly looked up, his pupils dilating slightly in the moonlight, then contracting again. His fingers trembled slightly as he reached for the cigarette case in his pocket. The blue-gray metal case gleamed in the moonlight with a color similar to the bullets. His temples continued to burn like a gun was pressed against them, but Yan Ze forced himself to breathe without revealing even a hint of weakness.

Breathing forcibly through his nostrils, Yan Ze stared at a point in empty space, like facing an executioner on the scaffold.

Xu Hao took the cigarette case and lighter, surprised to see it was the same brand he'd smoked half the night in Switzerland. Xu Hao lit a cigarette, his voice steady. "Give me some time to think. Don't come looking for me, and don't overthink this. Let's both cool down. I don't think you're joking, which is why I need this process of thinking it through on my own. We're both adults—whatever relationship we have, we should give each other room to breathe. As for what's between us right now, I could easily brush you off with the same bullshit I use on others, but I didn't, right?"

Xu Hao handed the cigarette pack back to Yan Ze. As Yan Ze reached for it, his gaze followed the wind's movement, landing on a spark floating down from Xu Hao's fingertips. Xu Hao, holding his cigarette, ran a hand through his hair and said, "I didn't know what you want from me by suddenly rushing over today. So can you give me some time?"

Yan Ze suddenly raised his left hand and quickly grasped the air near Xu Hao's mouth, capturing that spark in his palm. Xu Hao was startled by this action and nearly dropped his cigarette. "What's wrong?"

Yan Ze said, "I'll give you time." He didn't open his hand, didn't check if the spark had died out, acting as if his left hand truly felt burned. Yan Ze suppressed the emotion in his breathing and repeated, "I'll give you time, won't see you, and don't want anything from you. But you've got to give me a number—how long do you need to cool off?"

Xu Hao squinted through a puff of smoke, apparently thinking. "At least ten days, maybe... I haven't really decided yet. Work's been crazy lately, coming to this party today was unavoidable. Wait until I get through this busy period, okay?"

"Okay." Yan Ze said, suddenly opening both arms, left hand clenched into a fist, right hand still outstretched. Yan Ze said, "Then come here and hug me."

Xu Hao froze, clearly not expecting this follow-up from Yan Ze. He hesitated for a second, blew out some smoke, and said, "Alright."

Xu Hao stepped into Yan Ze's open arms, threading his cigarette-holding hand through the space above Yan Ze's side, raising it to keep the embers from falling on either of them. His other hand rested low.

Chest to chest, it was a light embrace. Xu Hao patted Yan Ze's shoulder and said, "Enough now, you're a grown man."

Yan Ze's face twitched.

He gritted his teeth fiercely, with all his might.

A fire exploded in his left palm, burning the entire autumn night plain to ash.

Yan Ze used every ounce of strength he'd gathered in twenty-five years to prevent himself from shedding tears in that moment.

--

Three days later.

Hong Kong, Deep Water Bay.

Yan Ze handed a stack of documents to the butler at the entrance and surveyed the estate's Western gardens. The hillside vegetation was withered and brown, stretching to the vast waters beyond, but he saw no one in the courtyard. Yan Ze asked in Cantonese, "Where's Grandpa?"

The butler took the document envelope and replied politely in Cantonese, "Master's in the study."

Yan Ze walked along the corridor into the house. Without taking the elevator, he climbed the familiar stairs to the third floor and knocked on the study door.

The solid wood door, despite its age, still had a smooth, elegant surface that produced a heavy, muffled echo when knocked. Moments later, an elderly voice came from inside, "Come in."

Yan Ze pushed the door open and sat in the sofa chair closest to the door.

Elder Shao wore traditional Chinese clothing, his white hair neatly combed back to his hairline. His eyes were sharp, holding a cigar between his lips, letting it burn without moving his hand.

Elder Shao's face remained tight, only his heavy gaze fixing on Yan Ze, like a calm sea surface hiding dangerous undercurrents.

Elder Shao's voice was low, sounding no different from any other old man, except for his measured tone: "A-Tze, you know I've always been satisfied with you, never meddled in your private affairs." The hand holding his cigar, as withered as an old tree's bark, tapped the table twice. "But everything has limits. What should and shouldn't be done, I shouldn't need to remind you."

Yan Ze ran his hand along the leather sofa's armrest, stood up, and said, "Grandpa, I didn't just come because you called me back. There are things I must say to your face."

Elder Shao frowned slightly, watching Yan Ze stand up from the sofa, walk to the desk, then place both hands firmly on the surface.

Yan Ze said, "You have no idea what he means to me. I won't let go."

Elder Shao's hand trembled. His usual composure cracked, revealing disbelieving fury. "Do you even know why he approached you?"

Yan Ze pressed down on the desk, not backing down at all: "I know what you're trying to say. You don't understand him, and no amount of explaining will help. Let me be clear: whatever you're worried about, I don't care. Whether he deceives me, uses me, wants my money, wants my power, whether he has no real feelings for me—I don't care."

Elder Shao stared at Yan Ze with near-furious shock, that unerasable memory surfacing again—same age of twenty-four, even similar appearance.

Elder Shao grabbed the crystal ashtray beside him and, with all his strength, threw it at Yan Ze with trembling hands, cursing, "You insolent brat!"

Yan Ze didn't dodge, letting the crystal strike his face, cutting open his brow bone.

Yan Ze casually wiped away the blood trickling down and said, "I mainly came back to make one thing clear: don't touch him. Whatever I'm like has nothing to do with him. If you want to do something, come at me. I'm not Shao Chongming—if you want to touch him, you'll have to get through me first."

Hearing that almost forbidden name in the Shao house, Elder Shao's fingers twitched violently. He took a breath, his gaze darkening. The cigar had fallen to the floor at some point. Elder Shao opened his withered, bark-like hand and knocked twice on the table: "I think it's necessary for you to speak with Joseph."

Yan Ze curved his lips, his expression cold: "I don't need a therapist, and I don't need treatment. If anything, I think you might need to talk to Joseph more than I do."

Elder Shao's eyes were filled with rage. "You!"

Yan Ze stood straight, his gaze arrogant, looking out the window at the distant gulf. "Still the same words—you have no clue what he means to me."

Yan Ze opened his left hand. What he'd been clutching that night was just a trace of ash. There was nothing in his palm.

He turned and left the study.

Night was a lamp that never lit.

Since that maritime disaster, it had been fifteen years.

Everyone said the death of the Shao family mistress was an accident, caused by a sudden shipwreck on a calm, warning-less day. But Yan Ze knew the truth. That day, Grandmother took him out to sea without telling anyone else. There was no third person on the boat.

Grandmother had always favored him since childhood, but when her illness struck, she couldn't recognize anyone.

The day they went to sea, she looked much older than her years, all her former grace worn away. At dusk, she steered away from the coast somewhere in the outer Pacific off Canada, one hand on the wheel while searching the coastline for something, calling him Chongming one moment, A-Ze the next. Grandmother said they must go to Italy, must find that little fishing village on the cliff. In Grandmother's confused fantasy, that place was like heaven.

The Pacific waters stretched endlessly. Night fell like a massive hand covering the sky, clutching everything until nothing remained visible.

As darkness fell, Grandmother lost their way.

Looking at the ocean plunged into complete darkness, Grandmother muttered to herself, then turned to look at a frightened Yan Ze.

Ten-year-old Yan Ze stood in the corner of the boat, panicked and silent.

By the pale moonlight, Grandmother stared at Yan Ze's face, her lips moved slightly, and suddenly tears streamed down.

Her face was old and contorted, like a crazed ancient beast.

She tore at her own hair, crying out desperately, "Chongming ah, Chongming ah!"

She knelt on the floor clutching her hair, smashing her head against the deck, again and again, until blood flowed.

She curled her frail body in agony, weak sobs tearing from her chest. "Mama failed you! Chongming ah, you were only twenty-four, your mother failed you!"

Yan Ze slumped powerlessly against the cabin wall, watching Grandmother stumble out of the pilot house and dive into the sea without looking back.

That night, a deathly pale full moon hung in the starless sky.

The search and rescue continued until the faint dawn of the next day. When Yan Ze was pulled from the small boat into the helicopter, his life plunged forever into those eight hours of darkness.

From that day forward, watching the sun sink down, never to rise again.

Fifteen years.

The sky had never brightened.

Ten-year-old Yan Ze had been driven mad by that helplessness—how could he have imagined then?

That one day, this unfathomable ocean beneath his feet would be set ablaze by a single person.

[swimuntilseaturnsblue]

Chapter 45

重生之真不挖煤 by 萝卜桑1

Wildfire (Rebirth: I’m Really Not Mining Coal)

raw link：重生之真不挖煤_萝卜桑1著_长佩文学网

Xu Hao：MC gong

Yan Ze：ML shou

Xu Hao spent over two weeks in Shanxi before heading to City B, with his main task being sorting out the mess that was his dad's company finances.

Moving assets was time-consuming and labor-intensive, but cutting off financially risky loose ends wasn't that difficult. It just meant paying more taxes, taking some losses, or keeping careful books while bundling sensitive transactions.

To keep his dad from facing jail time down the road, Xu Hao had done plenty of prep work over the years, but to avoid raising red flags, he'd kept things low-key. When the company executives saw more money going out than coming in, they just thought the young boss was messing around. They'd finally reached their limit and collectively complained to the old boss, but he just turned a blind eye and eventually stopped getting involved altogether, making the people under him think the company was doomed to fail.

By the time Xu Hao returned to City S, it was already deep into autumn.

Xu Hao took a taxi home and was just unlocking his door when a call came in.

He answered without checking the caller ID. A woman's voice came through. "Mr. Xu?"

Xu Hao opened the door and walked in, asking, "Who's this?"

The voice on the other end gave a soft laugh. "It's me, Lin Xiao. We had dinner together. Do you remember me?"

Xu Hao frowned. He didn't recall giving Lin Xiao his phone number. "Hello, Miss Lin. What can I do for you?"

Lin Xiao spoke in a gentle, breathy voice. "Well, Shanqi is having a party tomorrow night and wants to invite you. You absolutely must make time for it!"

Xu Hao rubbed his temple. He did exchange numbers with Xue Shanqi at that dinner. When the daughter of Commander Xue personally asked for his number, how could he refuse? Who knew it would lead to so much trouble? Xu Hao said, "I'm sorry, Miss Lin, but I'm really busy these days. Would you mind passing on my thanks to Miss Xue for the kind invitation? This time I'll have to—"

Before he could finish, the voice on the other end changed to a different woman. "Xu Hao."

Xu Hao sighed and smiled. "Miss Xue."

Xue Shanqi said, "I don't care. Even if you're in America right now, you'd better fly back tomorrow. Yan Ze isn't coming, and now you're not either? Are you two playing some disappearing act?"

Xu Hao hesitated. "Umm..."

Xue Shanqi cut him off. "Stop with the 'umms.' I, Xue Shanqi, have gone this far to invite you. You're not going to deny me this little bit of face, are you?"

With things put that way, what else could Xu Hao say? He could only agree. "How could I? Of course I'll be there."

Xue Shanqi let out a flirtatious laugh. "Make sure you look handsome. I'll find you a pretty date."

Then she hung up.

Xu Hao held the phone, feeling completely drained. He thought that in some ways, Xue Shanqi was quite similar to Yan Ze—forceful personality, completely ignoring what others had to say.

Thinking of Yan Ze, Xu Hao realized he'd barely had a proper conversation with him over the past couple of weeks.

First off, Xu Hao had genuinely been busy—that was the main reason. Second, he really didn't know what to say to Yan Ze. He wouldn't reply to WeChat for days, and when Yan Ze called, Xu Hao would be evasive. After just a few sentences, they'd end up arguing, until Yan Ze would eventually slam down the phone.

Man, what a temper.

Headache.

Still, Xu Hao was relieved that Yan Ze wouldn't be at this party. Given the current situation, if they met face to face, they might end up fighting on the spot.

Xu Hao didn't think he needed to dress up much. One black suit, hair roughly styled—he just wanted to get this over with and go home.

The party was organized in a very remote suburban area near the city. Xu Hao drove for two and a half hours and arrived at an estate.

The house was beautiful, with a European country style. A large private property with gardens, vegetable patches, and fountains.

Xu Hao didn't have an invitation, but they let him in after he gave his name at the door. Walking through a grape vine corridor, the air carried the scent of ripe wheat and the faint smell of burning straw. At the entrance, Xue Shanqi stood in a red strapless floor-length gown, stunningly beautiful, like a flame in autumn.

Xu Hao approached and greeted Xue Shanqi. As soon as she saw him, she smiled and turned to look for someone. "Let me find your date. Where's Lin Xiao? Someone go get Lin Xiao!"

Hearing this, Xu Hao immediately protested, "No need, no need! I can't dance—what do I need a date for? I'll just wander around. You do your thing, don't worry about me."

Right then, Xue Shanqi got surrounded by newly arrived guests. Xu Hao took the chance to say a quick hello and hurried away.

But Xu Hao really wasn't familiar with Xue Shanqi's circle of friends.

More than half the women present were Xue Shanqi's girlfriends from who knows where. They were all different types, but had one thing in common—they were all easy on the eyes. As for the men, most were second-generation rich kids. Anyone who could be friends with Xue Shanqi usually had deep pockets, making these young ladies very forward—one flirtatious move and they'd be hooked.

Caught in the middle, Xu Hao felt awkward. These people were either mindlessly hitting on girls or talking about what their families had been doing for three generations. Xu Hao could hardly say his family had been digging coal for three generations, could he? So he avoided these topics and just hung around the edges, eating and drinking.

After dodging for most of the evening, Lin Xiao finally caught him.

Today she wore a blue and white short dress with 3-inch crystal heels that made her long white legs look even longer and slimmer. Lin Xiao sat down next to Xu Hao with a glass of juice and smiled. "Why aren't you drinking?"

Xu Hao sat on the sofa, wondering if just standing up and walking away would be too disrespectful. "I'm driving. Can't drink."

Xu Hao thought he'd made his disinterest in conversation pretty clear, but Lin Xiao's emotional intelligence radar seemed completely offline. Her expression didn't falter at all as she continued smiling and said, "Then I'll join you for juice. Do you like orange juice?"

Xu Hao glanced at Lin Xiao, thinking that Yan Ze wasn't even here today, and everyone present had some status in their circle, so why was she fixating on him? Xu Hao said, "I don't drink orange juice. What about Miss Xue's cousin? Is she here? She's your classmate—if you're here, she must be too. I should go chat with her."

As Xu Hao started to stand up, his jacket was lightly tugged. Lin Xiao looked up at him with a pitifully delicate expression. "Kang Hua had something come up and couldn't make it. Don't go yet." As she spoke, Lin Xiao also stood up, her eyes gradually filling with glistening tears. She bit her lower lip with a wounded look. "Xu Hao, you've disliked me from the first moment we met, but I haven't done anything wrong! I came today just to understand—why are you treating me this way?"

By the end, Lin Xiao's voice had risen, with a hint of sobbing. The whole scene looked like lovers having a quarrel, with Xu Hao cast as the asshole.

Great. Fucking brilliant.

Noticing people around gradually turning to look, mostly with spectator interest, Xu Hao—who already hated this kind of event—felt even more annoyed. He turned back to Lin Xiao and said, "Don't cry here. If you have something to say, let's talk outside."

With that, he walked out first.

--

Yan Ze was walking outside with his crew, having just finished some business, when he received a call. He answered without checking who it was. On the other end, Lin Duzhi asked, "Qiqi's throwing a party and invited me. Are you coming?"

Yan Ze had thought it was Xu Hao finally calling him after being out of touch for so long, but when he heard Lin Duzhi's voice, his irritation doubled. "Not coming!" he said, about to hang up.

Lin Duzhi must have sensed Yan Ze's intention, quickly adding, "Wait, wait, wait! That high school classmate you rescued from Heart of the Ocean? He's here with his girlfriend. I'm puzzled when Qiqi even met him. I was going to go say hi, but before I could, he took his girlfriend and left."

Yan Ze had been walking, but hearing this, his footsteps suddenly slowed until he stopped completely. His tone was unexpectedly calm as he asked Lin Duzhi, "What girlfriend?"

Lin Duzhi didn't pick up on anything unusual and laughed. "No idea. She looked pretty innocent—probably still in school."

Yan Ze continued with unnerving calmness, "I'm coming. Send me the location."

Lin Duzhi was stunned, not expecting Yan Ze to change his mind so quickly. He sent the location to Yan Ze's phone.

The driver arrived within minutes. Yan Ze forwarded the location and settled into the back seat.

Three days ago, Elder Shao had called Yan Ze.

Elder Shao asked, "What's going on between you and that Xu family heir?"

Yan Ze didn't know where he'd slipped up, but ultimately, you can't hide fire with paper.

Raised by Elder Shao, Yan Ze knew exactly how much the old man despised homosexuality—enough to drive his own son to suicide rather than accept that path. Growing up in that environment, how could Yan Ze not despise homosexuality himself? Before meeting Xu Hao, Yan Ze thought two men together was the most disgusting thing in the world.

The realization that he liked another man was devastating for Yan Ze. He'd struggled against it—struggled hatefully, hysterically through countless nights, tormented to his very soul. But it was useless. One reunion with Xu Hao after five years apart, and he was utterly defeated.

Eventually, he stopped fighting it.

Yan Ze began expanding his network of influence. Internal purges, stock redistributions—since his uncle's death, Yan Ze was the Shao family's only successor in line, as well as the second son of the Yan family. This fruit of a commercial-political marriage was destined from birth to hold absolute second authority in the Shao corporation, right behind Elder Shao himself. Elder Shao was aging; half the empire would soon shift. The upper management didn't want conflict and actively avoided risks, only seeking self-preservation. They just didn't understand what the young master was rushing toward.

For Yan Ze, he had planned to clarify everything when the timing was more mature and the situation more secure.

It wasn't quite ripe yet.

Far from a foolproof plan.

But Yan Ze couldn't wait anymore.

So-called rationality is just a fig leaf covering a comfortable status quo.

Anyone can rip it away with a single tug.

Yan Ze arrived at Xue Shanqi's estate by car. Moonlight flooded the grounds, and the small fountain jets opened like an umbrella.

Two people sat on the long bench in front of the fountain.

One man, one woman, both in their twenties. The man's black suit neatly wrapped his tall frame; the woman wore a blue and white short dress with high heels. Sitting together like that, they genuinely had a romantic atmosphere.

Yan Ze's expression remained unnervingly calm throughout. His gaze fixed on the distant couple as he told the driver to stop, then asked the bodyguard in the passenger seat, "Carrying a gun?"

His tone was casual, like asking if the bodyguard had cigarettes. The bodyguard hesitated, then said, "Yes."

Yan Ze reached out. The bodyguard wasn't sure what the young master suddenly wanted, but didn't dare ask. He unholstered the gun from his lower back and handed it to Yan Ze.

Sitting in the back seat, Yan Ze skillfully ejected the magazine—six rounds, fully loaded. He slid it back in, closed it, and got out of the car. *(translator note: Guns are strictly banned in China, however Yan Ze's power makes this ban almost non-existent to him.)

Yan Ze lit a cigarette in front of the car and walked toward the fountain.

At eighty meters, Yan Ze kept the cigarette clenched between his teeth and released the gun's safety.

At sixty meters, Yan Ze raised his left hand.

Fifty meters.

"BANG—"

A gunshot thundered, startling several birds and animals in the vicinity.

Nobody's insensitive to gunfire. Xu Hao jumped up from the bench, and Lin Xiao scrambled to her feet in panic. Then, a second shot exploded in their ears.

"BANG—!"

The gunshot created an extreme shock in the peaceful environment, jolting the entire night sky awake.

Lin Xiao let out a shriek, quickly grabbing Xu Hao's clothes and hiding behind him, her whole body trembling—this fear definitely wasn't fake.

Xu Hao's face was pure disbelief as he watched Yan Ze emerge from the darkness, left hand holding the gun pointed skyward, barrel still trailing wisps of gunsmoke.

Yan Ze pinched his cigarette with his right hand, took a drag with narrowed eyes, then exhaled a stream of smoke as he slowly lowered his left hand.

The gun now pointed directly to Xu Hao's side.

Yan Ze said, "Get away from him."

Xu Hao nearly cursed out loud. What the fuck!

Had this guy gone insane? This wasn't a fucking toy gun!

Brave as always, Xu Hao didn't bother checking on Lin Xiao, who had collapsed weak-kneed to the ground behind him. Instead, he cautiously stepped forward, then quick as lightning grabbed Yan Ze's left wrist and forced it down toward the ground.

Xu Hao's hand was shaking as he gripped Yan Ze's wrist. He shouted, "What the fuck is wrong with you!"

Yan Ze held the gun with his cigarette between his lips, his gaze falling on Xu Hao's face.

Yan Ze smiled faintly, his eyes defiant and arrogant, yet paradoxically his face showed a hopeless sense of resignation, mixed with some unstoppable emotion that instantly pulled Xu Hao's memory back to the day he went skydiving in his previous life.

Air ripping apart, the sky burning with rainbow light.

Yan Ze said, "The way you've been looking at this woman hasn't been right from the beginning. Whatever entanglement you have with her, it ends now."

Xu Hao sensed what Yan Ze might say next and released his grip.

Yan Ze dropped his cigarette to the ground, crushing it with one foot, and exhaled smoke as he said, "I'm not Shao Chongming. I won't fail to protect you and have you driven to jump into the sea. Think whatever you want. Xu Hao, I like you. I can't let you go—there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. If you think I'm sick, don't even try to cure me."

[swimuntilseaturnsblue]

Chapter 44

重生之真不挖煤 by 萝卜桑1

Wildfire (Rebirth: I’m Really Not Mining Coal)

raw link：重生之真不挖煤_萝卜桑1著_长佩文学网

Xu Hao：MC gong

Yan Ze：ML shou

Xu Hao flew back to Shanxi early the next morning.

There was one thing Xu Hao hadn't lied to Yan Ze about—his grandmother was indeed in the hospital lately, though not for an emergency, just for observation and care. The old lady was getting up there in years, so basically every year or so she'd do a routine hospital stay for check-ups and to monitor her blood pressure, preventing any sudden major health issues.

Xu Hao had returned in such a hurry that he hadn't even told his family. He was already at the bottom of the hospital building, about to buy fruit, when he finally called his aunt to ask which floor and room his grandmother was in.

His aunt was totally surprised by Xu Hao's sudden return. "None of us are even there right now, just the caretaker with your grandma. Oh, you haven't met the caretaker yet, right? Just call her Auntie Wang." She then rambled on a bit more before giving him the room number.

Xu Hao took the elevator up and followed the signs to his grandmother's room. Through the glass window, he could see his grandmother sitting cross-legged on the hospital bed in her patient gown, chatting with another elderly patient in the next bed, looking incredibly spirited.

Xu Hao pushed the door open carrying a massive fruit basket, calling out, "Grandma, I'm here."

His grandmother turned, her face lighting up with joy. Speaking loudly in her thick Shanxi accent, she shouted back, "Ya! Haohao, how'd you get here?"

Then she immediately turned to introduce him to everyone else in the room, her pride impossible to hide. "My grandson came to see me! Look at him, so handsome, right? So handsome!" Then she turned back to Xu Hao with a stern face, scolding, "You could've just come, why buy fruit? Does money grow on trees? Grandma doesn't like you wasting money!"

Xu Hao placed the impressive fruit basket beside the hospital bed and said, "Fruit is good for your health, and what's good for your health isn't a waste of money. Grandma, I specially asked them to pack extra apples—aren't those your favorite?"

Looking to the side, he noticed a woman in her fifties sitting next to his grandmother's bed. She had a dark complexion and was fanning herself and the old lady with a palm-leaf fan. She seemed friendly but a bit tired.

Xu Hao said, "You must be Auntie Wang? It must be tiring staying here all day. Why don't you go rest for a while? I'll keep Grandma company, and we can switch later."

Hearing this, Auntie Wang gratefully agreed.

The elderly woman in the opposite bed also had visitors—a woman in her forties with a young girl around ten. The little girl had been curiously eyeing Xu Hao since he entered, while the woman praised, "Auntie Zhu, your grandson is so handsome and thoughtful, knowing to bring your favorite fruits." His grandmother's pretend-stern face immediately broke into a smile as she turned back to boast some more, giving a thumbs up. "My boy studies well, very successful, even studied overseas. His father says he's the top scholar in our Xu family!"

Xu Hao quickly waved his hands with a smile. "No, no, it's not that impressive."

After exchanging pleasantries with the visitors, the woman with the child suddenly had an idea. "Hey, Auntie Zhu, how old is your grandson? Does he have a girlfriend? If not, I could introduce someone! Our Yuanyuan is just too young, otherwise I'd love to make a match with your family." The young girl, who couldn't have been more than fourteen or fifteen, immediately turned bright red, both embarrassed and angry. "Mom! What are you saying?!"

Xu Hao laughed it off. "Auntie, I'm not in a rush for romance. I'm focused on my business—really don't have time for dating."

Xu Hao's grandmother didn't stay overnight at the hospital. She'd go home after her IV drip and return the next morning. In the evening, Xu Hao's uncle came to pick them up in his car. Xu Hao and his grandmother stood waiting at the hospital entrance. From a distance, they saw a Toyota SUV stop, and a teenage boy jumped out from the passenger seat, waving excitedly toward Xu Hao. "Cousin! Cousin!"

Xu Hao watched his cousin running over and froze, thinking how fast this kid had grown. Having had little contact with relatives these past few years, Xu Hao still pictured his cousin as that little squirt who barely reached his chest. As his cousin came closer, Xu Hao raised his hand to measure and discovered they were only half a head apart in height. He was even more surprised. "When did you get so big?"

His cousin punched Xu Hao, clearly annoyed. "I'm in ninth grade already. Why do you still treat me like a kid?"

Xu Hao put his cousin in a headlock. "Alright, I see your wings have hardened. Getting brave enough to talk to me like that, huh?"

They messed around childishly for a while until Xu Hao's uncle hurried them into the car. At home, his aunt had prepared a huge table of hot dishes. The family gathered around noisily for dinner, feeling like Chinese New Year had come early.

After dinner, Xu Hao stopped his uncle who was about to get up to drive his grandmother home, saying he'd handle it. On the way, his grandmother suddenly asked, "Why do I feel like something's bothering you, boy?"

Xu Hao's hands paused on the steering wheel. He glanced at his grandmother in the rearview mirror. "Grandma, how do you know everything?"

His grandmother snorted from the back seat. "Since you were little, you've worn your troubles right on your face. I'm your grandma—you think I can't tell?"

Xu Hao smiled, helpless. Outside the car windows, the night spread like black snowflakes, bringing with it all those private thoughts bubbling up from his heart. He'd been an adult for so long, rarely showing his feelings of being lost, but grandmother was grandmother—no matter how old Xu Hao got, to her, he was still a child.

Xu Hao said, "Grandma, there's something that's turned out completely different from what I expected. It's really bothering me."

His grandmother looked at Xu Hao from the back with a knowing smile. "Which family's daughter is so blessed?"

Xu Hao took a moment to process what his grandma was saying and couldn't help but laugh. "Grandma, it's not like that."

Grandma dismissed Xu Hao's objection with a warm smile. Her tone was just like when she used to pat Xu Hao's head as a child, looking forward to him growing up. She continued mumbling to herself, "Whoever marries our Hao-Hao in the future will be one lucky girl."

Xu Hao felt that familiar soap smell from his childhood visits to Grandma's house before dinner. Looking at her now, she seemed even older than he remembered. Before, she still had a few gray-black hairs mixed in, but now they were completely white. The wrinkles on her face were like freshly plowed dark fertile soil in a wheat field, though her smiling expression hadn't changed much in decades.

Xu Hao asked, "Grandma, what kind of person do you think I should end up with?"

Grandma stroked the wrinkled skin on her hands and rambled on, "You young folks have plenty of your own ideas. How could Grandma decide for you? I never went to school, can't read or write. Back then, your grandpa and I were matched by our families. But Grandma knows what makes a good person. During the famine, your grandpa went out with others to dig up tree bark and roots. He saved the grain for the family, kept your father and aunt alive. Your grandpa got so skinny he was like a pipe stem, always passing out in the fields from hunger, but never complained when he came home. Your grandpa wasn't lucky, left us too early, but all the men in our Xu family are good men. Your father, you, your grandpa—you've got the same temper, you really do. Grandma doesn't hope for you to marry some beautiful woman. Grandma just hopes you find someone who truly cares for you, who shares your burdens big and small, who doesn't wrong you. When someone treats you like a treasure, they'll give up their most precious things for you without a second thought."

Xu Hao's thoughts wandered with Grandma's gentle ramblings, gradually feeling a bit melancholic. His grandfather had died in a mining accident before Xu Hao was born. Xu Hao had only seen him in photos—a thin man in a Zhongshan suit, sitting sternly on a stool for the picture. Then he thought about his grandparents' relationship—an arranged marriage in the early years. Though Grandma hadn't explicitly said how deep their feelings were, after all these years of reminiscing, it was clear in every word that Grandpa had treasured her. Probably no one in the world regretted more than Grandma that Grandpa hadn't lived to see the Xu family's better days.

Then Xu Hao thought about himself. In this life, his approach to relationships had always been to take things one step at a time. During his studies in America, Xu Hao had dated three women. Two breakups were amicable, but the third slapped him in the face when they split, saying she felt he put less effort into their relationship than he would into raising a dog. Xu Hao had nothing to say to that.

Indeed, since his rebirth, whether as a side effect or something else, Xu Hao had almost completely lost his emotional sensitivity toward love. In other words, he'd lost the ability to develop feelings for others, left only with basic sexual impulses. Yet purely satisfying sexual urges made Xu Hao feel empty and like he was wasting time. For Xu Hao, he didn't need companionship—he could live perfectly well on his own and had no plans to build a family where they'd have to accommodate each other. Not exaggerating, sometimes when Xu Hao looked at women, he felt no different than when looking at men.

So Xu Hao figured nothing really mattered—dating, sex, marriage—if he met someone, he'd date them; if they weren't compatible, they'd break up; if things really didn't work out, they'd divorce. Whatever.

Xu Hao took his grandma home, where Auntie Wang came out to receive her. After leaving his grandma's place, Xu Hao got a message from He Fusheng saying there was a pretty big auction in a couple of months, asking if Xu Hao wanted to go.

Since He Fusheng was still willing to associate with him, Xu Hao texted back that he'd definitely be there.

Just after sending the message, a WeChat notification from Yan Ze popped up.

Yan Ze: When are you coming back?

Xu Hao held his phone, lost in thought.

For no apparent reason, Xu Hao recalled that day in his previous life when he and Yan Ze went skydiving at the Great Barrier Reef.

Looking down from the plane, the water enclosed by the coastline looked like a magical glass ball. Sixty seconds of free fall from nearly 15,000 feet, the fierce wind distorting their faces—that extreme sensation really felt like dying.

Even after going through rigorous high-altitude skydiving training, Xu Hao still felt nervous and exhilarated, his adrenaline surging. Yan Ze clearly felt the same. On the plane with the cabin door wide open, they didn't talk, but one glance at each other and they knew both their eyes were blazing with very similar flames on the edge of life's limits.

Then, through his goggles, Xu Hao saw Yan Ze flash a smile.

That untamed smile, in the howling winds at high altitude, looked exceptionally bold and dazzling.

With his parachute strapped to his back, Yan Ze turned around, slowly and arrogantly spreading his arms wide. His eyes locked on Xu Hao as he faced away from the smoky blue earth and ocean, falling backward first.

A step behind, through the tearing air, Xu Hao vaguely heard Yan Ze shouting at the sky and rainbow light, as if trying to empty his lungs completely: "Fuck it! If we die, we die together!"

[swimuntilseaturnsblue]

Chapter 43

重生之真不挖煤 by 萝卜桑1

Wildfire (Rebirth: I’m Really Not Mining Coal)

raw link：重生之真不挖煤_萝卜桑1著_长佩文学网

Xu Hao：MC gong

Yan Ze：ML shou

Xu Hao felt like the universe loved playing those cheap, nasty jokes on him.

Right now, his head was already a complete mess—he hadn't even figured out what was going on with Yan Ze, and now Lin Xiao shows up?

Great, just great. The universe clearly didn't want him to have an easy time.

The Red Rose dinner invitation was too gracious to decline, so there was no way to get out of this meal. Xu Hao glanced at Yan Ze standing on his left, then at Lin Xiao approaching from not far away on his right.

Pick a side?

Was that even a question?

Xu Hao pulled himself together and walked to Yan Ze's side. Since getting on the plane, this was the first time Xu Hao had spoken to Yan Ze so naturally. "Your friend—aren't you going to introduce us? Just gonna leave us making small talk?"

Yan Ze seemed to snap back to reality, shifting his gaze. He looked toward Red Rose as if just realizing there was another person there.

Yan Ze didn't seem very enthusiastic as he told Xu Hao, "Xue Shanqi."

That's it?

Xu Hao felt his smile becoming a bit stiff.

But Red Rose seemed perfectly normal, not finding anything wrong with this introduction. By now, Red Rose's distant cousin Kang Hua and Lin Xiao had walked up to them. Red Rose asked Yan Ze, "Brother Ze, we still don't know your friend's name."

Yan Ze said, "Xu Hao. My high school classmate. He's a very good..." Yan Ze paused, suddenly at a loss for how to introduce him. He looked at Xu Hao.

But he found that Xu Hao wasn't really focused on this conversation. Though he was pretending to listen, his attention had been caught by something to the side, making him repeatedly glance in one direction.

Yan Ze followed Xu Hao's line of sight.

Yan Ze saw a woman.

More precisely, a young woman with presence and a beautiful face, tall with fair skin and a slender waist—the type that easily awakened a man's protective instincts.

Yan Ze's brows gradually furrowed.

He frowned, looking from Xu Hao to Lin Xiao, suddenly feeling extremely irritated inside, thinking:

Why is Xu Hao staring at this woman?

And why does she look kind of familiar?

With both men's gazes focused on the same point, the entire atmosphere began to shift.

But Lin Xiao was clearly used to this kind of attention. She kept her gaze to one side, hands loosely clasped in front of her, proud yet reserved, looking at no one, like a standing daffodil.

Xue Shanqi found this curious and said, "Come on, guys, seriously? See a pretty girl and lose your minds?"

Then looking from Lin Xiao to herself, she joked, "I think I'm not bad either, but I don't see you two reacting like this when you look at me. Guess men these days still prefer classical beauties, huh?"

Xu Hao quickly pulled his thoughts together, smiling apologetically. "Hey, with three gorgeous women standing here, I don't know where to look. Sorry about that."

When Lin Xiao had approached, Xu Hao was thinking that this was technically the second time he'd seen her in this life—the first being just a chance encounter on the street. Xu Hao didn't think Lin Xiao would remember him. But one thing bothered him: both times, Yan Ze had been present.

Thinking this, Xu Hao glanced at Yan Ze.

He found Yan Ze staring thoughtfully at Lin Xiao.

Seeing how absorbed Yan Ze was, as if there were some code on Lin Xiao's face he needed to decipher, Xu Hao had a ridiculous thought: Shit, could Yan Ze have fallen for Lin Xiao at first sight, just like he had in his previous life?!

For the past thirty hours, Xu Hao had been constantly worried that Yan Ze might have a crush on him. This was getting absurd.

Lin Xiao was genuinely pretty, with that campus sweetheart face men love—scholarly, pure-looking, and devastatingly impactful at first sight. Xu Hao knew this all too well from his previous life. If he hadn't taken such a hard fall over Lin Xiao before, he'd never have imagined this innocent-looking girl could cause so much trouble.

But regardless of whether Yan Ze was interested in Lin Xiao or not, in this situation, putting clear distance between himself and Lin Xiao was definitely the smart move.

As everyone walked forward, Yan Ze brooded with dark eyes lost in thought, Red Rose had an overwhelming presence, and Lin Xiao had been thoroughly blacklisted by Xu Hao. Weighing his options, Xu Hao chose to chat with the person who seemed most approachable.

Xu Hao deliberately fell half a step behind and asked Red Rose's distant cousin, "I'm pretty familiar with B University. Which major are you in?"

Kang Hua, startled at being addressed, looked at Xu Hao and stammered, "Chi-Chi-Chinese literature."

Xu Hao had no idea what he'd said to frighten her, so he softened his tone even more, encouraging her, "B University's Chinese program is amazing. Did you just graduate?"

Kang Hua stammered even worse, "Ye-ye-yes, oh no-no-no, I'm not amazing. Lin Xiao is the ama-ama-mazing one."

Xu Hao: ...

Yan Ze suddenly stopped walking and frowned at Xu Hao. "Xu Hao, come here."

Feeling like he really had nothing to talk about with the young woman anyway, Xu Hao walked over to Yan Ze. Yan Ze told Xue Shanqi, "You guys go ahead. We'll drive over separately. I need to talk to him about something."

Xu Hao gave Yan Ze a curious look, wondering what sudden business Yan Ze could have with him. Xue Shanqi turned back, winked at Yan Ze and Xu Hao, and said, "Fine, but hurry up. Don't keep us waiting too long."

Yan Ze stared in the direction where the three women were walking away and asked Xu Hao, "Who's that girl?"

Xu Hao had just pulled his car keys from his backpack and was caught off guard. "Which one?"

Yan Ze jerked his chin forward in an irritated way. "The one with long hair wearing a dress."

Xu Hao casually shouldered his bag. "She's your friend's distant cousin's college classmate, didn't they already introduce us?"

Yan Ze looked back at Xu Hao. "I'm asking what's going on between you two."

Yan Ze put extra emphasis on "you two." Xu Hao was surprised. "What could possibly be going on? I don't even know her. This is our first time meeting, isn't it?"

Hearing this, Yan Ze seemed to find his breakthrough point in the negotiation and lowered his voice. "Xu Hao, this isn't the first time we've seen her. Back in high school, we saw her once on the street, and you looked like you'd lost your soul. When I asked who she was, not only did you not tell me, you actually got pissed at me."

In Xu Hao's mind: Holy shit, he remembers that? This dude holds a fucking grudge like nobody's business.

On the surface, though, Xu Hao put on his amateur acting skills. "Seen her before? No way, I really don't remember. Are you sure you're not mixing her up with someone else? She obviously doesn't recognize me either."

Yan Ze narrowed his eyes, looking half-convinced.

The sudden intrusion of these three girls actually helped dispel a lot of the awkwardness between Xu Hao and Yan Ze from the plane. Xu Hao didn't want to overthink things anymore, so he just gave Yan Ze a push. "Let's go. After dinner I'm heading back early. Gotta return to my hometown first thing tomorrow."

Yan Ze took a couple steps following Xu Hao's nudge, then stopped. "You're leaving tomorrow morning?"

Xu Hao went with the flow and continued his lie. "Yeah, if I hadn't been invited to dinner tonight, I would've left tonight."

Yan Ze reluctantly followed Xu Hao to the car.

Dinner was at a French restaurant.

Xu Hao was cutting foie gras while listening to the three girls chatting and laughing at the table. Xue Shanqi had an outgoing personality with social skills almost maxed out. Her cousin Kang Hua seemed introverted, but surprisingly, after just a bit of red wine, she became lively and talkative. Lin Xiao, on the other hand, maintained a reserved smile throughout, with a different vibe from the other two—occasionally chiming in with an extremely gentle voice.

Three women with completely different styles.

Xu Hao and Yan Ze were basically just background characters and bodyguards the whole time—talking when there was something to say, eating when there wasn't. Xu Hao had it slightly better, occasionally joining in to keep the girls' spirits up. Yan Ze wasn't so socially aware, completely ignoring the table atmosphere. The most emotional things he said all night were to Xu Hao: "What do you think of this dish?" "I think this tastes average."

Just as Yan Ze finished telling Xu Hao with his dinner knife that he thought the steak was decent, Lin Xiao suddenly started engaging. Holding a glass of red wine, her hands looking even more delicate and fair in the soft light, she smiled very gracefully at Xu Hao and said, "I heard you graduated from Wharton? That's really impressive."

Xu Hao shifted his gaze from Yan Ze to Lin Xiao's face, paused for a moment, then said, "I'm not that impressive. He's more impressive—graduated from Cambridge."

Yan Ze glanced at Xu Hao, continuing to cut the steak on his plate with smooth movements, showing no intention of responding.

Lin Xiao looked at Yan Ze, then back at Xu Hao. Her fingers tightened slightly around the neck of the wine glass, her expression showing perfectly calibrated reserve and vulnerability. "Well, you're both amazing. Not like me—all things considered, loving to read is pretty much my only virtue. Do you enjoy reading?"

Xu Hao hadn't expected Lin Xiao to suddenly put him on the spot. Internally surprised, he crumpled the napkin in his hand before cautiously responding, "Uh, I guess... it's okay."

Lin Xiao's expression remained natural. "What kind of books do you like to read?"

Xu Hao was caught off guard that Lin Xiao would pursue such an awkward conversation. "His-his-history?"

Lin Xiao persisted relentlessly, asking several more questions that neither embarrassed him nor let the topic die, occasionally throwing in compliments for Xu Hao. Honestly speaking, if this routine had happened to the Xu Hao from his previous life, he might have been so dazzled he'd follow her anywhere.

As Xu Hao kept talking with Lin Xiao, he increasingly felt like he was negotiating with a master strategist, unable to figure out what Lin Xiao was really after. Was she suddenly interested in him? Xu Hao thought that was unlikely. In his previous life, he'd pursued Lin Xiao for a solid two months, sending so many luxury gifts they practically buried her dorm bed, before finally getting a not-so-enthusiastic nod from her.

In this life, Xu Hao would never believe that Lin Xiao had suddenly changed her ways. Just as he was thinking this, Lin Xiao leaned forward with her glass and smiled again, saying, "Let me toast you—to knowledge, shall we?"

Xu Hao picked up his glass, catching Yan Ze looking up in his peripheral vision.

Lin Xiao suddenly shifted her gaze and gave Yan Ze an incredibly heartfelt smile.

The level of sincerity was something Xu Hao couldn't even describe. His eyes paused as he looked down, suddenly understanding.

Holy shit.

No wonder she cheated so efficiently in his previous life—turns out she never actually had her eyes on the wine in the first place? Honestly, someone like Lin Xiao would probably be best off marrying some rich guy and living without financial worries for the rest of her life.

But apparently the rich guy she wanted from the beginning wasn't Xu Hao?

Well, fine then.

Xu Hao felt deeply speechless, thinking, so that's what this is about. Anyway, he had no connection with Lin Xiao in this life, so if she wanted to use him as a human stepping stone, whatever.

Xu Hao raised his wine glass half-heartedly. "Great, cheers, cheers to knowledge."

The two glasses clinked with a crisp, pleasant sound.

Xu Hao was just about to drink when Yan Ze threw his knife and fork onto his plate and snatched the wine glass from Xu Hao's hand.

Yan Ze said, "What are you drinking for?"

The four people at the table went silent, not knowing what Yan Ze was going to do.

Yan Ze didn't bother hiding his irritation at all. He put the wine glass down on the table and, without looking at anyone, said, "Let's go."

With that, he tossed a lighter to Xu Hao, who caught it reflexively. Yan Ze stood up and walked out.

Xu Hao stood up with Yan Ze, holding the lighter and feeling pretty weird about the situation. They say you wouldn't slap someone with a smiling face, but Yan Ze actually said something like that in front of Lin Xiao? Yan Ze was really something else.

Before leaving, Xu Hao glanced at Lin Xiao from the corner of his eye.

Well, even someone with Lin Xiao's strong psychological makeup looked like her expression was about to crack.

Xu Hao felt like he definitely needed a couple more cigarettes to calm down.

[swimuntilseaturnsblue]

Chapter 42

重生之真不挖煤 by 萝卜桑1

Wildfire (Rebirth: I’m Really Not Mining Coal)

raw link：重生之真不挖煤_萝卜桑1著_长佩文学网

Xu Hao：MC gong

Yan Ze：ML shou

Yan Ze walked down the stairs and immediately spotted Xu Hao huddled by the fireplace.

Xu Hao was wearing pajamas with a down jacket, slumped on the massive beanbag, limbs relaxed, knocked out cold.

The staff had gotten up early, but they couldn't figure out if this important guest of the young master had some unusual sleep preferences, so they hadn't dared disturb Xu Hao, let alone wake him up.

Yan Ze's gaze shifted to one of Xu Hao's hands.

Xu Hao was loosely holding a metal cigarette case, with a lighter that had fallen to the floor.

Yan Ze's eyes lingered on the cigarette case for a moment.

His slippers made almost no sound on the carpet. As he got closer, Xu Hao's eyelids twitched slightly, as if sensing his presence.

Xu Hao was first blinded by the daylight, raising his hand to shield his eyes as he looked forward.

Yan Ze stood about two meters away.

Yan Ze looked at the lighter on the floor, then extended his hand to Xu Hao, offering to help him up while casually asking, "You were smoking?"

Xu Hao grabbed Yan Ze's hand and groggily pulled himself up, joints cracking all over his back and legs.

With the half-empty cigarette pack clutched in his hand, combined with his nearly falling-apart body, last night's thoughts suddenly flooded his brain.

Xu Hao opened his eyes, fully awake now.

He abruptly let go of Yan Ze's hand, reacting faster than usual.

By now Xu Hao was completely standing, so releasing his grip wouldn't make him fall back down. But his sudden withdrawal left Yan Ze's hand suspended in mid-air.

Yan Ze froze in the handshake position, fingers extended, not pulling back for two seconds.

Xu Hao stared at the hand in front of him, feeling the moment was incredibly awkward, impossible to pretend nothing had happened.

Looking up to meet Yan Ze's still-unprepared expression, Xu Hao's mind raced at lightning speed, and he used the hand he'd just withdrawn to slow-motion grab at his own waist.

Then he knocked on it a couple times.

With terrible acting skills, Xu Hao furrowed his brows and said, "Ow, think I twisted my back a bit."

Yan Ze slowly withdrew his suspended hand.

Hard to tell if he bought it. Yan Ze's eyes moved from the lighter on the ground to the deep blue metallic cigarette case in Xu Hao's hand.

Yan Ze didn't ask about the smoking again, just said, "I'll call a doctor."

As he said this, Yan Ze pulled out his phone, apparently about to make a call. Xu Hao raised his hand to stop him. "No need."

Feeling Yan Ze's eyes on him, Xu Hao controlled his expression without avoiding the gaze—avoiding it would make his emotions too obvious. So Xu Hao rubbed his face, hoping this gesture would wipe away the heavy thoughts in his eyes. "Man, got a call last night, couldn't sleep well. My head's still spinning."

Yan Ze looked at Xu Hao for a while, phone in hand, then took the cigarette case from Xu Hao and picked up the lighter from the floor.

Yan Ze pulled out a cigarette, leaned to the side to light it, his features hazy behind the light blue smoke. He asked, "What kind of call got you this stressed?"

A slightly raw taste spread across his lips and teeth. This brand wasn't very strong, but definitely mind-clearing, with a grassy flavor like highland pastures that quickly swept his mind into an open space of clarity. Looking at the cigarette between his fingers, Yan Ze thought, Xu Hao doesn't smoke—in his own words, it's "not very disciplined."

Yan Ze opened the cigarette case again, casually glancing at the quantity.

Taking a drag, he gently closed the lid.

Exactly half a pack plus two cigarettes.

For someone who'd never smoked before, what did that mean?

Then Xu Hao said, "It's nothing much. My grandma's in the hospital. The old lady's always been healthy, but her blood pressure suddenly shot up to over 200. Came out of nowhere—scared my family half to death."

Xu Hao's grandmother really did have high blood pressure, but it wasn't a sudden discovery—it was an old problem from years ago. Mixing truth with lies, Xu Hao just wanted to get through this awkward morning.

Xu Hao didn't answer.

For a moment, he couldn't even figure out what tone to use when talking to Yan Ze.

By evening, even as they boarded the plane again, the two barely exchanged any meaningful words.

Though nothing actually happened, something had definitely changed.

When they got off the plane, neither of them was in good shape.

It was written all over their faces.

They took the shuttle together to the parking lot. Despite being exhausted from the journey, Xu Hao was still fine to drive himself home.

Xu Hao got off the shuttle and spotted his car still parked where he'd left it days ago. Someone had washed it—gleaming in the sunlight. Yan Ze followed Xu Hao off the shuttle. Xu Hao said, "So, uh... I guess I'll head back first?"

The blazing sunlight washed out Yan Ze's face, making him look bloodless. Clearly, he hadn't rested well. He stared at Xu Hao without blinking, moved his lips, but said nothing.

Not hearing the customary goodbye, Xu Hao didn't feel right just walking away. So the two of them stood there, face to face, stuck in the moment.

Suddenly, a woman's voice came from behind.

"Brother Ze?"

Yan Ze's gaze remained fixed on Xu Hao's face, not moving at all, as if he hadn't heard the greeting. It was Xu Hao who turned his head first.

A woman in a tight red strapless dress was walking toward them in high heels. Her makeup was bold, her figure stunning. A small black blazer draped over her shoulders added an elegant, mysterious touch to her overall appearance. From a distance, she looked like a blooming red rose.

This woman, carrying an exquisitely crafted handbag, walked up to Xu Hao and Yan Ze. She smiled at Yan Ze, "Brother Ze, Lin-Zi said you were coming back early, so I came to pick you up." Then, following Yan Ze's gaze to Xu Hao, the red rose smiled charmingly and coquettishly, "Is this your friend? Perfect timing—I brought a distant relative and her friend to hang out. Dinner together tonight?" The red rose, with extremely long eyelashes, winked mysteriously at Xu Hao, "They're all gorgeous, by the way."

Xu Hao laughed politely, thinking, Who gives a shit about gorgeous women right now? All I want is to go home and sleep. But it was awkward to refuse point-blank, and he didn't know how to escape. Meanwhile, Yan Ze was acting like he'd lost his soul, showing zero reaction to the red rose's words, who knew what was going through his mind.

While Xu Hao maintained his polite smile, trying to come up with an excuse to go home, this red rose had somehow made up her mind to drag Xu Hao along for dinner. As she was working on persuading Xu Hao, she waved behind her, complaining, "Come on over! Two handsome guys are right here—what are you hiding for?"

Turns out there were two young women standing in front of the group of bodyguards that had followed the red rose, both looking to be in their twenties.

One wore a pale blue-green shirt with jeans, her face fresh-looking, giving off a delicate, well-bred vibe. Seeing the red rose wave, she seemed a bit shy about coming over.

The other wore a plaid dress with her waterfall-like long hair flowing down to her waist. Her features were fine, giving off a scholarly aura. She kept her head slightly lowered, revealing an elegant long neck, as if examining a small flower on the ground.

When the wind blew, she gently used her right hand to tuck her hair back, revealing a pale, cute little ear.

Just like that same gesture from their first meeting in his past life, the images overlapped.

Xu Hao felt like a massive thunderbolt flashed across the sky and struck him from head to toe.

Nearly blew his head clean off.

The red rose put her arm around the pale blue-green shirt and said, "Let me introduce you. This is my cousin, Kang Hua."

Then she pointed to the plaid dress, "This is Lin Xiao, my cousin's classmate from B University. Not only are they both beautiful, they're genuine talents."

Great, now Xu Hao was soul-struck too, not just Yan Ze.

Xu Hao stared at Lin Xiao, feeling like the heavens were dumping buckets of melodrama right on his face. His emotions knotted up so tight he couldn't even speak.

As for Yan Ze.

Ever since early morning when Xu Hao was clutching that half-empty cigarette pack, Yan Ze had sensed something was off.

Though Xu Hao gave the excuse of a sick family member, Yan Ze's subconscious kept telling him something wasn't right.

Xu Hao's expression wasn't natural. When he responded, it seemed forced.

He even avoided Yan Ze's handshake.

Until Xu Hao told him, "I'm sorry, I've troubled you."

Yan Ze watched as Xu Hao visibly relaxed.

That uncomfortable expression on Xu Hao's face was suddenly completely exposed.

In that moment, Yan Ze noticed his own hand holding the cigarette pack starting to tremble slightly.

He knew this expression of Xu Hao's all too well.

Five years ago, at school.

When Yan Ze ran across the playground, desperate to reach the classroom.

He never imagined someone would beat him to the confession.

Someone of the same gender, saying similar words from the heart.

Yan Ze heard the entire confession, not long, but enough to make him stop in his tracks.

Then, outside the classroom door, he saw this exact expression on Xu Hao's face.

Somewhat awkward, somewhat helpless, not wanting to embarrass someone, his tone gentle and polite.

Like a heated gun with the safety off, pressed against Yan Ze's temple.

Xu Hao said, "I should be the one apologizing."

Xu Hao said, "It's just that I really can't fall for a guy."

The sunlight behind him flooded everywhere, just like him.

Xu Hao said, "I'll remember these feelings. Thank you for liking me during such a beautiful time of life."

Yan Ze leaned against the door, slid down the wall.

From the shadows, he grabbed his own heart, squeezed it until it bled, all while being blinded by dazzling light.

After that parting.

Five years had passed.

[swimuntilseaturnsblue]

Chapter 41

重生之真不挖煤 by 萝卜桑1

Wildfire (Rebirth: I’m Really Not Mining Coal)

raw link：重生之真不挖煤_萝卜桑1著_长佩文学网

Xu Hao：MC gong

Yan Ze：ML shou

Xu Hao wasn't the type to overthink things, so he rarely wasted energy trying to figure out what someone meant by certain words.

But today was different. Xu Hao tossed and turned in bed for two hours, unable to sleep.

Every time he closed his eyes, his brain kicked into overdrive, with visual images connecting in seemingly chaotic patterns: family photos, an uncle, a male lover, a ruined family, successive suicides...

Xu Hao opened his eyes restlessly, lying in bed, and remembered the movie Zhang Xusheng and his crew made, with Yao Qingming asking him, "Do you find life painful?" "If someone dies because of you, who's the killer—you or themselves?"

Xu Hao rolled over in bed, running his fingers through his hair in complete frustration. He'd never wanted his brain to shut down more than right now.

Eventually, after who knows how long, his racing cerebral cortex finally calmed down, and Xu Hao drifted into a hazy sleep.

At the boundary between reality and dreams, Xu Hao seemed to be standing on a densely vegetated yet desolate piece of land.

A black stone monument.

A man standing in front of the monument suddenly dropped to his knees, as if one leg had been broken.

His forehead pressed against the cold stone, rain falling on his body.

His lips quivered and his Adam's apple trembled. After a long while, he painfully, almost inaudibly tore open a slit in his vocal cords.

"Don't... what...?"

Not a single tear fell. Yet the dream was instantly overwhelmed by an enormous sense of suffocation, the aura of death almost clinging to his skin.

Xu Hao woke with a start.

Gasping, he got out of bed and practically ran to the bathroom, splashing handful after handful of cold water on his face.

After several splashes, Xu Hao barely managed to escape the oppressive feeling from the dream. Once he calmed down and thought about it, he found his reaction both intensely real and completely bizarre.

It made no sense, but his hands were still shaking.

Now Xu Hao really couldn't sleep at all.

He threw on a jacket, went downstairs, poured himself a glass of warm milk, and walked over to the fireplace.

The photos on the wall flickered in the firelight. Holding his milk, Xu Hao looked at Yan Ze as a child, then at Yan Ze's uncle.

Throughout Xu Hao's two lifetimes—adding up to just over thirty years—he'd let go of most things. Life is meant to be lived for the future; there's no point in obsessing over past bullshit.

But there was one thing for which Xu Hao had tried countless explanations yet never found a truly satisfying answer.

And now...

Xu Hao glanced over and noticed a few cigarette packs on a nearby table. He put down his milk glass, picked up a pack and opened it—full.

He grabbed a lighter and headed to the first-floor viewing deck.

Sliding open the glass door, Xu Hao breathed in the cool night air from the snowy mountains, rubbed his hands together, then closed the door behind him.

Xu Hao sat down on the first step of the viewing terrace, expertly lit a cigarette, but then choked a bit when inhaling. He remembered this was actually the first cigarette in this lifetime to enter his lungs. Feeling the cool breeze, Xu Hao examined the cigarette pinched between his fingers and found it somewhat amusing.

He took another drag, slower this time. The nicotine wasn't too strong, and he gradually got used to it. Xu Hao gazed at the Milky Way cascading across the sky, white wisps escaping his mouth, mixed with smoke. His gaze drifted along the horizon as his mind expanded with the nicotine.

There was this idea—pretty far-fetched—so far-fetched that it had cost Xu Hao his sleep.

But if he really calmed down and thought it through, it wasn't impossible.

In fact, it could explain a lot of previously inexplicable things that had happened to him.

As the cigarette smoke entered his mouth, filtered through his lungs, and was exhaled, Xu Hao remembered the last time he saw Yan Ze in his previous life.

Before he left the country.

Before his family was almost driven to bankruptcy and his father nearly sent to jail over financial disputes.

On Q University campus, probably not long after they'd been released from the hospital after their fight, Yan Ze came looking for Xu Hao, still wrapped in bandages.

Xu Hao hadn't had his bandages removed either, with a large patch on his nose bridge. The moment they faced each other, Xu Hao immediately felt a surge of anger with nowhere to direct it, though another fight would have been pointless. Xu Hao tried to walk past Yan Ze, but Yan Ze blocked him—clearly wanting to confront him.

So Xu Hao turned sideways, glanced at Yan Ze, and said curtly, "Move."

Yan Ze turned to look at him. "What's your problem, Xu Hao?"

Xu Hao tried to hold back but couldn't contain his anger. He turned and shoved Yan Ze. "My problem? I should be asking what your problem is. Feels good sleeping with your buddy's girlfriend, huh? Makes you feel like hot shit? It's just Lin Xiao, for fuck's sake. I get it now—sleep with her if you want, do whatever the hell you want. You two can go wherever you please, just don't fucking parade around in front of me. You're pissing me off, get it? Pissing. Me. Off!"

Yan Ze stumbled back from Xu Hao's push. He looked at Xu Hao, nodding, "Fine. Fine." Then he violently kicked the nearby wall and roared furiously, "You care about that girl so fucking much? Can't you see what kind of trash she is?"

Xu Hao shouted back at Yan Ze, even louder, "The person I like, my girlfriend, whatever kind of person she is—I don't need you to tell me! I don't need you! You're just a cold-blooded animal. I'd do anything for Lin Xiao, even if she doesn't love me at all. Could you do that? You don't understand love at all. You've never loved! You have no right to lecture me about my feelings!"

Yan Ze jerked his head up, glaring at Xu Hao, both of them breathing heavily, neither backing down. With reddened eyes, Yan Ze shouted in Xu Hao's face, "I don't understand? I have no right? You're something else, Xu Hao, you really are! Just because of some bitch, you get physical with me, you fucking hit me, and you want to end our friendship? Do you even care about what we have? How many years have we known each other? She's only known you for a few months. Who matters more—her or me?"

At this, whatever self-control Xu Hao had left completely vanished. He grabbed Yan Ze's collar and shouted, "You fucking know it too, you fucking know you're important to me! Yan Ze, how many years have we known each other? How have I treated you? Think about it, hand on your fucking heart! And this is how you treat me now, you're just kicking my feelings around like a fucking ball, you think I'm just some idiot, some fucking joke! You're playing me, Yan Ze, do you have any conscience left, Yan Ze..."

As memories of the past flooded back, Xu Hao's shouting became increasingly distraught, until by the end, his energy was nearly gone. Xu Hao couldn't help it—he raised his hand to rub his eyes, smearing tears all over. Afraid of embarrassing himself, he took a deep breath and tried to hold it in, forcing the tears back.

Though Xu Hao managed to keep it together, it was the person across from him who broke down. Yan Ze violently shoved Xu Hao's hand away, his eyes bloodshot, tears streaming down his face. Yan Ze wiped his face and said, "I'm kicking your feelings around? I'm playing you?" At this point, he could barely continue. Yan Ze furiously wiped his eyes several times before choking out, "I don't matter to you at all. You could toss me aside for anyone who comes along. Now because of her you want to cut me off completely, huh... You never gave a shit about me! You don't understand anything! Huh... who's playing who, Xu Hao..."

Xu Hao rubbed the tears from his eyes, feeling bitter in his mouth and heart. His eyes were red from rubbing as he cursed, "What the fuck are you crying for? You fucking stole my girlfriend, and you're the one feeling wronged? You think you're in the right? Now I finally see clearly—we were never meant to be friends. From now on, you go your way, I'll go mine. Let's not get in each other's way. Disappear from each other's sight right now. Go, just go!"

With that, Xu Hao walked away first.

He left Yan Ze standing there alone. Xu Hao didn't look back, and later he never knew what happened to him.

That was the last time they saw each other in his previous life. Xu Hao was surprised that while he'd forgotten nearly everything else, this memory remained so clear.

Xu Hao took a deep drag of his cigarette.

He tried hard to maintain the most sober, objective perspective to analyze the whole incident.

The turning point in all of this was Lin Xiao.

Before Lin Xiao appeared, his relationship with Yan Ze had been virtually unbreakable.

After Lin Xiao appeared, it immediately fell apart.

He'd thought it was because they were rivals for the same girl, but thinking about it now—did Yan Ze even like Lin Xiao?

No, he didn't.

So the problem must have been with Xu Hao himself.

Xu Hao took another drag of his cigarette, long and slow.

The tobacco burned slowly, burning his thoughts into a concrete shape.

Yan Ze really could be quite petty at first, with a strong sense of possessiveness and protectiveness toward things he liked. Like that bright red Ferrari he used to have, which he maintained like it was his firstborn son.

And also friends.

Fuck.

Friends.

Once that protective layer was pierced, looking back at certain things made them seem so obvious and reasonable.

Following this logic, in his previous life, Yan Ze hadn't actually treated him as a joke, nor was he playing around by stealing his girlfriend.

And the unexpected pressure on Xu Hao's family business might not have been Yan Ze's doing at all.

Xu Hao flicked away his cigarette butt, then quickly finished his last drag.

In his heart, he felt both absurd and incredulous.

The explanation before him made so much sense, yet was so difficult to face. Xu Hao really didn't want this theory to be true.

Xu Hao tossed the cigarette end into the ashtray beside him, then turned around. His body was frozen through. Xu Hao stared hard at the building behind him, straining through the cold wind.

Yan Ze.

You didn't fucking have a crush on me, did you?

[swimuntilseaturnsblue]

Chapter 40

重生之真不挖煤 by 萝卜桑1

Wildfire (Rebirth: I’m Really Not Mining Coal)

raw link：重生之真不挖煤_萝卜桑1著_长佩文学网

Xu Hao：MC gong

Yan Ze：ML shou Because of the jet lag from just arriving, Xu Hao woke up around five.

Early morning mist lingered over the mountains. Xu Hao threw on a jacket and slid open the floor-to-ceiling glass door to the balcony. A burst of pine scent mixed with morning dew hit his face. The sky was cold and empty, with towering glaciers blocking half the sun, like the face of someone with a fever.

Xu Hao rested his hands on the railing, the air so fresh it felt cold in his nostrils. Breaking away from the big city and suddenly being surrounded by such primal mountain scenery made modern people feel like they were being swallowed by nature. But Xu Hao didn't mind this feeling.

Xu Hao loved that moment of merging with nature when people realize how small they are, while simultaneously feeling some kind of primal life force bursting from within—incredibly impulsive, like the most basic human instinct to capture fire.

After admiring the mountain view for half an hour, Xu Hao went back inside, grabbed his laptop bag, and headed downstairs.

Around six, breakfast was already laid out on the table. Xu Hao ate some cold-cut ham, pan-fried veal steak, a few slices of fig bread, then washed it all down with a bowl of hot soup and a large glass of milk.

When Yan Ze came trudging down the stairs, bleary-eyed from sleep, Xu Hao was lazily lounging on a massive beanbag next to the fireplace, working on his laptop. Looking down, Yan Ze saw him wearing deep blue pajamas, right sleeve casually rolled up to reveal a slender arm. The small crackling sounds of burning firewood combined with the rhythmic tapping of Xu Hao's fingers on the keyboard, like fireflies that only expand in dreams.

Xu Hao looked up at the sound, saw Yan Ze, and raised his right hand with a smile. "Up early, huh?"

Yan Ze ran a hand through his hair—just woken up, with a few strands sticking out. He smiled back, looking somewhat languid. "Haven't adjusted to the time difference yet."

Xu Hao didn't get up from the beanbag. With one hand holding his laptop, he casually pointed toward the table with the other. "I think the bread and steak are the best, though everything else is good too. But make sure you save room for those two."

Yan Ze raised an eyebrow, then grabbed two slices of bread from the table, stuffing them into his mouth in three bites. He turned around and asked Xu Hao with a muffled voice, "What are you working on so early?"

Xu Hao's finger paused on the laptop screen, then he waved Yan Ze over. "Come here."

Yan Ze walked over with a cup of coffee. Xu Hao shifted to make half a seat on the beanbag. "I'll answer whatever you ask, okay? So you don't say I'm disrespecting you again. Here, sit."

Yan Ze stood there, seemingly caught off guard by this invitation, awkwardly lowering himself onto the beanbag while holding his coffee.

The beanbag was super soft, but thankfully big enough that two lanky guys could just barely avoid squishing together.

Xu Hao showed Yan Ze his screen. "I'm doing risk assessment. This is technically our business secret, so don't go blabbing about it."

The last line was obviously a joke. Yan Ze first glanced away with a helpless smile, then turned back and said, "Sure, I definitely won't tell anyone."

Both guys then focused on Xu Hao's laptop. Yan Ze looked at the orderly tree diagram on the screen. "Is this your current investment direction?"

Xu Hao's hand traced along the screen. "Yeah, but this is just my part. I haven't finished this cycle yet. Andre, my other partner, will compile another batch, and eventually everything goes to Matthew for big data processing."

Yan Ze looked concentrated, studied it for a while, then said, "I think... it's really good. Doesn't seem like the work of just three people at all."

Xu Hao knew Yan Ze was particularly bad at complimenting people, so he found it pretty surprising that Yan Ze had gone this far. They discussed a few more professional points, and after a while, the clock struck nine.

Xu Hao closed his laptop and noticed four or five staff members already waiting in the front hall with skiing equipment. Both guys stood up and walked cheerfully toward the door.

At the entrance, Yan Ze suddenly turned to Xu Hao. "Hey, we don't necessarily have to take the SUV up."

Following Yan Ze's gesture, Xu Hao saw several snowmobiles parked nearby—obviously these vehicles were more down-to-earth and more fun. Xu Hao eagerly said, "Let's take these! Come on!"

They put on thermal clothing, thick boots, gloves, and anti-fog goggles, then each climbed onto a snowmobile with a driver and headed toward the ski area.

Riding a snowmobile felt completely different from normal driving. It was like sliding at high speed through the snow, even slowing down took longer than normal driving, but the journey was thrilling—these machines could even climb slopes in deep snow.

When they reached the ski area, the endless white mountainside was empty except for a few staff members—not a single skier in sight. Xu Hao sat on a chair beside a small wooden cabin changing into his ski gear and asked Yan Ze, "Did you book this whole place? Why don't I see anyone else?"

Yan Ze finished changing faster. With his goggles on, only his chin was exposed. Tall and straight-backed, even in black and white ski gear he didn't look bulky—instead, he appeared sharp and nimble. He was adjusting the tightness of his right cuff with his left hand when he heard this. He looked up at Xu Hao with a smile. "What are you talking about? This was my seventh birthday present from my grandmother. I've never brought anyone else here before."

Hearing this, Xu Hao vaguely dug up some memories from his mind, and looking at the slope again, he barely recognized it.

So they'd been here together in his previous life.

Xu Hao just remembered that this whole mountain apparently belonged to Yan Ze's family. Fuck.

Yan Ze finished strapping on his skis, pushed himself with the poles over to Xu Hao, and asked, "So, can you ski, or do you need me to show you how it's done?"

Xu Hao stepped down to secure his skis, pulled his goggles down from the top of his head, then glanced at Yan Ze. "I'm about to show you what professional looks like."

With that, Xu Hao leaned forward and slid down the gentle slope ahead of Yan Ze, smoothly turning around at the starting buffer zone. He waved at Yan Ze—basically saying he was waiting for him.

Yan Ze flashed an interesting smile, planted his poles, and leaned forward. He glided effortlessly across the slick snow surface, reaching Xu Hao almost instantly. Just as Xu Hao was about to say something, he realized Yan Ze wasn't showing any signs of slowing down. Yan Ze skillfully slid past at a 45-degree angle, spraying up snow like foam, and Xu Hao caught the words in the wind: "I'll go first."

Xu Hao watched as Yan Ze shot off like an arrow, leaving two smooth, arcing tracks in the snow within seconds. He thought, Well, well, showing off in front of me, huh.

Xu Hao followed right behind, not about to be outdone.

In the evening, they walked back in the fading sunlight, Xu Hao taking it one footprint at a time, feeling like his leg muscles had been seriously overworked.

Yan Ze wasn't in much better shape. They'd spent most of the day competing on the mountain—if you go higher, I'll climb higher—until they were bombing down slopes at speeds that felt like jumping off a building. Thankfully, they were both in great physical condition with quick reflexes and solid technique, so even with some extreme moves, nothing bad happened. Looking back, it was pretty exhilarating.

Xu Hao climbed off the snowmobile and looked back. The sunset had melted like golden resin, as if someone had poured a layer of syrup over the entire snow-covered mountain and glacier.

Yan Ze walked past him, taking off his goggles and hat. There were still tiny bits of snow stuck in his hair. Xu Hao looked at him and asked, "Tired?"

Yan Ze snorted through his nose, somewhat dismissively. "No way. You tired?"

Hearing this, Xu Hao thought, still competing, huh? So he said, "Tired? Please. That was just a warm-up."

But both of them were walking unnaturally. Xu Hao was moving with stiff legs, limping slightly, thinking, Sure, let's both pretend.

Dinner was bursting with savory aromas, served with a bowl of rich cream soup that left Xu Hao stuffed.

After eating, Xu Hao walked around the house while Yan Ze slid open the glass door to the viewing terrace and leaned against the doorframe to smoke.

Xu Hao stopped by a wooden stand near the fireplace and noticed several photos hanging on the wall. The first one was obviously old, slightly yellowed, showing a very gentle and beautiful lady. She was half-crouching in front of the cabin wearing a mink fur, with the snow mountain in the background, her arms around two children—a boy about ten years old and a little girl around four or five.

Xu Hao's gaze moved upward to another photo, which looked more recent. A little boy about five or six years old, bundled up tightly in the snow, surprisingly fully equipped with skiing gear, giving the camera a stern face with a cocky expression. Who else could it be but Yan Ze?

Xu Hao was about to laugh when he accidentally glimpsed another photo.

This one was clearly older than the little boy's picture, showing a man in his early twenties. He was leaning casually against a pillar at the entrance, looking very young with a tall frame and strikingly handsome features. In the photo, this young man was smiling at the camera with a bold and uninhibited expression.

After looking at this photo, Xu Hao turned to glance at Yan Ze leaning against the doorway smoking, and realized the two shared about a 50% resemblance in their features. Xu Hao couldn't help asking, "Who's this?"

Yan Ze, cigarette between his lips, turned his head and looked in the direction Xu Hao was pointing. Without needing to look closely, he already knew what was there. Yan Ze said, "My uncle."

Xu Hao was surprised, looked again, and realized this young man did indeed look like the little boy being held by the lady. Xu Hao said, "You really look like your uncle."

Yan Ze turned away, blowing out a cloud of white smoke through the doorway, then smiled at Xu Hao. "They say we have similar tempers too. Too bad I never met him."

Hearing this, Xu Hao remembered that the Shao family's eldest son had died in an accident at age twenty-four, and Yan Ze's grandmother had also passed away in a maritime disaster when Yan Ze was still young. Two people in this family photo were no longer alive. Xu Hao felt this wasn't a good topic and simply said, "That's a shame."

Yan Ze's tone remained casual as he replied, "A shame? Not really. In the early years..."

Yan Ze paused. His cigarette had accumulated a bit of ash. He flicked it outside, then continued, "In the early years, people said my uncle was smart but flashy. In his twenties, he fell for a guy. When my grandfather found out, he didn't approve and completely destroyed that guy's family. The guy couldn't take it and killed himself at the end of the year. I heard it was just a few days before New Year's Eve. Later, my uncle went to Manarola once and never came back. The next day, they found his body at the bottom of a cliff by the sea. After that, before my grandfather could even react, my grandmother went insane."

Yan Ze said it casually, but in those few sentences lay countless bloody stories behind the wealthy family that no one really knew. Xu Hao suddenly remembered Zhang Xusheng and their movie from before, and then his thoughts wandered, strangely bringing him back to his previous life.

On one hand, Xu Hao thought this was totally something Elder Shao would do. The old man was tyrannical, heavy-handed, and didn't give a damn about people's feelings. Even when he did something heartbreaking, he didn't seem like the type to regret it. On the other hand, why did this story feel so familiar to Xu Hao?

He racked his brain but couldn't figure out the connection to himself. It was like a math problem with a missing step—your mind racing anxiously to solve it. Or like dropping a tiny diamond on a beach, then crouching down to search everywhere. You know the diamond is there somewhere, but all you can see is sand, and you just can't pick it out.

Suddenly, Yan Ze asked in an eerily calm, casual tone, "Hey, what do you think? If your family was ruined by someone's scheme one day, would you get desperate enough to do that?"

Yan Ze stood at the glass door, the cigarette butt between his left fingertips gathering ash, faintly revealing tiny sparks. Behind him, the moonlight was thick, the Milky Way pouring down, and stars filled the mountains.

Since his rebirth, this was the first time Xu Hao couldn't read the emotions in Yan Ze's eyes.

Xu Hao thought for a moment, then said, "I think being alive doesn't necessarily solve problems, but death definitely can't solve anything. In times like that, enduring and staying alive is even harder. Rather than thinking about how to escape, how to self-destruct, how to die—why not think about how to fight till the end? I believe in living, even living under pressure. If you die, you must die with dignity. Of course, you might think I've never experienced this kind of thing, that I'm just talking out of my ass, but I'm actually being very serious."

The cigarette ash dropped from Yan Ze's hand, revealing the nearly burnt-out ember between his fingers. He didn't notice.

His free hand came up to rub his eyes with his fingertips. He sighed, but it also sounded like a soft laugh. "I don't think you're talking out of your ass. I think what you said is really good. I think you're better than all of them."

Yan Ze turned to slide open the glass door. A gust of wind carrying the scent of glaciers rushed around him. With his back to Xu Hao, he stubbed out his cigarette in the nearby ashtray. As he breathed, small wisps of white vapor escaped from his mouth.

Yan Ze said, "You being okay is better than anything else."

He didn't say it loudly, and with the wind blowing outside, Xu Hao could barely hear it.

But Xu Hao did hear.

Two people in one room, shattered moonlight on the floor.

The fireplace blazing with burning wood.

Xu Hao realized he'd finally found what he was looking for on that beach.

A small, transparent thing.

He thought it was a diamond.

Turns out it was a bullet.

[swimuntilseaturnsblue]

Chapter 39

重生之真不挖煤 by 萝卜桑1

Wildfire (Rebirth: I’m Really Not Mining Coal)

raw link：重生之真不挖煤_萝卜桑1著_长佩文学网

Xu Hao：MC gong

Yan Ze：ML shou

To accommodate Andre and Matthew's time difference, Xu Hao had a brief conference call with the two of them the next evening.

The main focus was adjusting recent investment projects and strategic guidelines, all while listening to Matthew's endless complaints about how boring school was, why England had endless potatoes, and his infinite longing for Sichuan hot pot.

After knowing each other for several years, Xu Hao and Andre had learned how to mentally block out Matthew's voice.

Before the call ended, Xu Hao mentioned he'd be going skiing in Switzerland next month and would bring his laptop so they could contact him anytime if needed.

Andre immediately perked up. "Hale, you absolutely must stop by Sicily! I'm going to feed you the best pasta in the entire world!"

Xu Hao knew Andre had been stuck at home lately because of some issues and was feeling pretty suffocated. He smiled and said, "Aren't you unable to leave your house? You still have energy to host me?"

Andre laughed heartily on the other end. "Hey, I don't care about anyone else, but if you come, not even the Grim Reaper can keep me from going out."

Xu Hao said, "Don't say such scary stuff. I'm mainly going for skiing, and I might not actually have time to visit."

Andre said, "You'll come if you have time, and you'll come if you don't. If you really don't show up, goddammit, I'll have someone kidnap you from China."

Xu Hao laughed. "You sound exactly like a mob boss. Alright, we'll be in touch closer to the time, okay?"

Meanwhile, Matthew was shouting at his phone: "Hello? Excuse me? Are your ears some kind of botched plastic surgery job? Can't you hear me calling you? God, this is the twenty-third time I've tried to get your attention! Is anyone there?"

Xu Hao and Andre hung up one after another, pretending nothing had happened.

Matthew was so furious he almost threw his phone out of his third-floor dorm room.

--

Xu Hao arrived at the airport five minutes before the agreed time.

This area was private. Xu Hao's license plate had been cleared in advance, so the barrier at the airport entrance lifted automatically. He drove straight to the tarmac without any issues, then was directed onto a small shuttle.

As the shuttle approached, he could see a pretty gorgeous private jet on the tarmac. Yan Ze had both hands on the cabin door frame, and when he spotted Xu Hao's shuttle from a distance, he raised one hand.

Xu Hao stuck his hand out too, waving back to show he'd seen him.

After getting off the shuttle, Xu Hao handed his luggage to a staff member nearby. As he boarded the plane, he called out to Yan Ze, "Something good happen to you?"

Yan Ze was dressed very casually today, with his bangs slightly swept up, looking a bit like that wild, carefree kid from his teenage years. He leaned against the cabin door with one hand, smiling at Xu Hao in the sunlight. "What took you so long?"

Xu Hao checked his watch, thinking, Aren't I actually early?

Yan Ze turned to the staff and said, "Everyone's here now. Let's fly."

When Xu Hao heard this, he was pretty surprised, thinking, Am I really the last one? Since when did people get so punctual?

But when he walked inside, he found the passenger seats completely empty.

Xu Hao glanced at the pile of food and drinks on the table. "This is 'everyone'? Just the two of us?"

Yan Ze leaned back into a soft chair, finding a relaxed position, and rested his chin on his hand, looking at Xu Hao like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Of course. Why invite a bunch of people? Too annoying."

Xu Hao figured this was just Yan Ze's style. He decided not to concern himself with outside matters and plopped down in a seat. "Fine by me. It's your treat this time anyway. As long as you don't dump me out mid-flight, whatever works."

Yan Ze started laughing again. You could tell he was in a really good mood today. "Don't worry, I wouldn't dump you of all people."

The plane taxied onto the runway. Xu Hao looked out the window, where sunlight was spread across the slightly yellowed grass, like it had been coated in a layer of gold. Looking further away, the fiery red maple leaves looked like they were ablaze.

Then the view outside tilted as the plane took off.

Yan Ze asked, "Haven't seen you for a while. What have you been busy with lately?"

Xu Hao turned back from the window. "Oh, you know, startup stuff, just hustling around. What about you?"

As the plane leveled out, Yan Ze poured himself a glass of white wine. "I've got a few small projects on hand too. Just killing time, really. By the way, was the Green Fund your idea?"

Xu Hao glanced at him. "Not really. We came up with it together."

Yan Ze swirled the glass in his hand, like he was playing with a crystal-clear water droplet. "I've got two pretty suitable projects here too. Interested in collaborating?"

Xu Hao nodded. "I would be extremely honored."

Yan Ze felt his tone wasn't quite right and looked at him. "Why that tone?"

Xu Hao said, "What tone? Did you drag me all the way out here to ski for this?"

Yan Ze's eyebrows furrowed. "Weren't you the one who started it?"

Xu Hao was completely bewildered. "Started what? Did I ask you to investigate me? If you had questions, couldn't you just ask me? You had to go and investigate. So what if I said I'd be 'extremely honored'?"

Yan Ze pointed his hand toward the window, his face burning as he dredged up old grudges. "Weren't you the one who went to dinner with them first? What business do you have with those people anyway? If you needed something, couldn't you have come to me? You're questioning me, but I want to ask you—why can't you just be straight with me? You want me to ask you? If I ask, will you even tell me?"

Xu Hao was getting heated too. He looked out the window and said, "Fine."

Turning back, Xu Hao added, "But that's not an excuse for you to invade my privacy, is it? I have the right to manage my own social circle. I should at least have that much personal freedom, right? As a friend, don't you think you're being a little disrespectful?"

Yan Ze squirmed a bit at the accusation. He shifted his position, any trace of happiness completely gone. "I wasn't trying to disrespect you, okay."

Yan Ze pressed his lips into a thin line, looking resistant. "But why do you always talk to me like there's some barrier between us? Can't we just talk properly?"

Xu Hao said nothing.

Yan Ze looked up, clearly uncomfortable. "That day in the car, you said I could count you in from now on, right? With our relationship, you still need to hide this stuff from me? You say I don't respect you, but have you ever respected what we have?"

How did this suddenly turn into playing the feelings card?

Xu Hao rubbed his face and said, "Fine, fine, you win. I can't argue with you."

In the end, neither of them convinced the other.

Xu Hao didn't feel like talking to Yan Ze anymore for the time being, so he turned around, lowered the bed in the private cabin, shut the door, and went to sleep.

Who knows how much time passed. The plane chased the sun, and outside the window it was still the clear glow of early evening. Xu Hao rolled over in bed, opening his eyes groggily, and suddenly realized someone was standing by the bed.

Xu Hao sat straight up, recognized who it was, and said, "Holy shit, you trying to give me a heart attack?"

Yan Ze took the opportunity to sit on the edge of Xu Hao's bed and said, completely ignoring the question, "After all these years, how are you still so petty?"

His tone suggested he'd thought everything through and now had to come console Xu Hao or something.

Xu Hao: ...

They sat in silence for a while. Xu Hao had no idea when Yan Ze had come in. He could only massage his temples with a headache and say, "Let's keep things separate. What's past is past. We're out here to have fun, so let's not fight. But don't do this kind of thing again. I don't feel like I was treated as an equal in this situation."

Yan Ze didn't look at Xu Hao, his gaze fixed elsewhere. After a moment, he reluctantly opened his mouth. "Got it."

--

After reaching the plains, they switched to a helicopter, then drove for another half hour before finally arriving at their destination.

At the foot of a snow-capped mountain, nestled among lush forests, stood a three-story wooden villa with classic European architecture. About a dozen staff members, mostly foreign faces, were waiting to welcome them.

Because of the high latitude and altitude, the temperature was on the cooler side. Both Xu Hao and Yan Ze had changed into lightweight down jackets. As they got out of the car, Xu Hao took a deep breath of the mountain's clear, cold air. It felt like all the stale air in his lungs was replaced, instantly putting him in a fantastic mood.

Yan Ze pushed Xu Hao from behind. "Come on, let's check out the house."

Xu Hao immediately followed Yan Ze toward the building.

As for that little friction on the plane earlier? By the time they switched to the helicopter, both had already forgotten about it.

Xu Hao followed Yan Ze into the house and was instantly surrounded by warm, dry air. Past the entrance was a wooden partition with a corner, leading to the front hall. The table there was loaded with various candies, bread, and wine. Xu Hao and Yan Ze each grabbed a freshly baked piece of bread, then walked further to the main hall.

The main hall was carpeted with plush rugs, with furniture mostly made of fur or solid wood. In the center of the room was a fireplace, the burning wood giving off a faint charcoal smell while steadily radiating spring-like warmth in all directions.

Xu Hao immediately flopped down on the sofa, exclaiming, "This place is too perfect!"

Yan Ze flopped down too, on the other side, with their heads facing each other. Neither bothered to take off their jackets or hats.

Yan Ze's face was sweating as he said, "It's awesome, even better than I remembered."

After lying there a while, Xu Hao asked, "Are you sweating?"

Yan Ze said, "Yeah."

Xu Hao asked, "Then why don't you take off your clothes?"

Yan Ze said, "You first."

Another ten seconds passed with neither of them moving.

Xu Hao, sweating profusely, said, "Are we both idiots or what?"

Finally, unable to stand it anymore, Xu Hao sat up clumsily, tossed his hat aside, and started to remove his down jacket.

Even after taking off the jacket, he still felt hot, so Xu Hao took off his sweater too.

Now he was just wearing a black t-shirt underneath.

Seeing this, Yan Ze also started struggling to remove his outerwear.

Xu Hao watched and said, "Why are you such a copycat? Always doing whatever I do?"

Yan Ze was provocative: "Because I feel like it."

Xu Hao pointed his finger at him and said, "Oh, you feel like it, huh?" Before finishing his sentence, Xu Hao grabbed his own hat that he'd just taken off and forcefully jammed it over Yan Ze's head. Yan Ze hadn't even taken his own hat off yet, so now he had two hats stacked on top of each other. He immediately burst out with a curse: "Fuck!" Xu Hao didn't stop there—with lightning speed, he grabbed his down jacket and wrapped the sleeves around Yan Ze's neck, then flipped over to sit on top of him, pushing his head down and covering him. "You feel like it, huh? Let me warm you up a bit."

Yan Ze was trapped underneath, his arms caught inside the down jacket, only his legs frantically kicking. He was both angry and about to laugh, his voice coming through several layers of clothes sounding extremely muffled: "Ahhh—I'm gonna die of heat!!"

Xu Hao held the down jacket firmly in place, saying, "Come on, apologize first."

Yan Ze thrashed his legs even more violently, with an utterly defiant tone, twisting like some oversized caterpillar trying to break out of its cocoon. "Fuck, no way! Xu Hao, you got the balls to let me go and we'll settle this face to face!"

Xu Hao didn't budge an inch. "Nice, got some spirit. I respect that." Then he freed one hand and grabbed Yan Ze's waist in a firm squeeze, his palm running over Yan Ze's well-defined muscle lines before mercilessly starting to tickle him. "Not bad, little Yan. You're pretty built, huh? What's this, an Adonis belt?"

Yan Ze jerked hard, then began thrashing with even greater intensity, almost breathlessly shouting, "I—hahaha—can't, can't—hahaha—I give up, I give up! I was wrong!"

Xu Hao released Yan Ze, who immediately collapsed into the sofa like all his strength had drained out. Xu Hao dug him out from under a pile of clothes and casually pulled off his two layers of hats. Yan Ze looked like he'd just taken a shower—face flushed red, covered in sweat, hair completely messed up from Xu Hao's direct approach to hat removal.

Xu Hao found his rare disheveled appearance hilarious.

Yan Ze sat up, catching his breath, and smoothly raised his hands to take off all his outer clothes, leaving just a tank top.

After sitting motionless on the sofa for a moment, he suddenly flopped back onto the soft cushions with an incredibly dejected tone. "Fuck that, I'm not accepting defeat."

?

[swimuntilseaturnsblue]

Chapter 38

重生之真不挖煤 by 萝卜桑1 Wildfire (Rebirth: I’m Really Not Mining Coal)

raw link：重生之真不挖煤_萝卜桑1著_长佩文学网

Xu Hao got home around noon.

The moment he walked in, that familiar smell hit him like he'd been gone for days. He tossed his keys on the divider, stripped off his clothes, threw them in the hamper, and jumped in the shower.

After his shower, still feeling pretty energetic, Xu Hao wasn't in the mood to rest. On his way back, he'd listened to a voice message from Matthew about some changes needed for their green fund proposal. Since hearing that message, his mind had been locked on it, and with nothing else to do, he opened his laptop and got to work.

He focused intensely on the urgent tasks at hand, losing track of time until a call came through.

Xu Hao looked up and saw it was Zhang Xusheng calling. He rubbed his sore neck, picked up the phone, and glanced outside to realize it was already dark.

Zhang Xusheng didn't waste time with pleasantries. His first words were: "Brother Hao, where've you been these past couple days? Still in S City?"

Xu Hao stretched his neck over the back of the sofa chair. "Yeah, what's up?"

Zhang Xusheng said, "Nothing much, just missing you. Thinking of coming to see you in S City in a few days?"

Xu Hao snorted and said, "Sure, come on over. Big bro will treat you to something good. Bring Haoran along."

Zhang Xusheng said, "Forget about Wang Haoran. He's away on some exchange thing for at least a month. And don't worry about treating us—I'm not coming alone. Got another friend who's a director, pretty funny dude. Let's grab some skewers and drinks together. Don't drive, alright?"

Xu Hao didn't stand on ceremony with Zhang Xusheng. "Fine, then I'm just bringing my appetite. When are you coming?"

Zhang Xusheng said, "Monday or Tuesday next week. I'll call you then."

After they hung up, Xu Hao figured Zhang Xusheng must have made a new friend. Someone who could hang with Zhang Xusheng and worked in the arts—probably an interesting guy.

After thinking for a bit, his mind went back to last night's events. Xu Hao felt like he owed He Fusheng an explanation.

So he called him up.

After just a few rings, He Fusheng picked up. Xu Hao said, "Mr. He, I'm really sorry about disrupting everyone's evening last night. Is everything okay on your end?"

He Fusheng didn't speak for a while. When he finally did, his tone was cautious. "Mr. Xu, you're too kind. I might have misunderstood you earlier. I thought you... needed some resources. Now I see I was mistaken."

Hearing this, Xu Hao knew He Fusheng had been affected by last night's events. He felt pretty awkward himself. "Look, don't laugh, but that Young Master Yan who showed up is my high school classmate. I had no idea he'd come. This is on me. I thought my friendship with him was one thing, and my socializing was another thing entirely. Didn't realize it would get so complicated. Bottom line, I wasn't trying to screw you over—I messed up. Hope you can forgive me."

He Fusheng gave a somewhat bitter laugh and said, "Mr. Xu, you seem straightforward, so I'll be direct too. Those two separate things you mentioned? In my view, they're one and the same. When you're in the same circle, you can't separate things so neatly. Everything affects everything else, like last night. You and Young Master Yan are high school classmates, and he obviously values that friendship a lot. For you, that's like walking around with a golden ticket in this circle. The people you'll deal with in the future will inevitably be the most powerful ones. You've just returned from abroad, so maybe you haven't figured out how things work here yet. I admire your character, which is why I'm saying all this. I hope you won't mind when you think back on this later. As for last night, there's nothing for me to forgive."

Xu Hao listened and felt pretty helpless. "I hear you, and I get it. But what happens when one day they don't give a damn about our friendship anymore? What then? Just sit there with my thumb up my ass?"

He Fusheng went silent.

Xu Hao sighed and said, "You're right. After last night's scene, my social environment might be smooth sailing for a while, just like you said. But a greenhouse is still a greenhouse. When it's not an environment you built yourself, it's always full of factors you can't control. Honestly, counting on others, riding someone else's coattails... that's not as good as counting on yourself, being the butterfly in the butterfly effect. At least a butterfly can fly on its own. A boat riding the wind has nothing when the wind stops. Mr. He, you understand this principle."

He Fusheng asked, "So you want to change the world?"

Xu Hao replied, "Change the world? I don't. I just don't want the world to change me."

He Fusheng fell silent again. After a moment, he laughed.

He Fusheng said, "Alright, Mr. Xu. I forgive you."

Xu Hao said, "Thanks."

After they hung up, Xu Hao went to the kitchen and filtered himself a small cup of Americano. Back in college abroad, he'd drunk a lot of coffee. After returning to China and setting up his apartment, he'd bought a fancy coffee machine. He was particular about his beans, and the machine wasn't cheap either. His go-to was an Americano with two shots. Homemade coffee always seemed to smell better than store-bought.

Afterward, Xu Hao went back to the sofa, grabbed his laptop, and skimmed through his unread emails—one from Matthew, two from Andre.

He opened the reply page, set his coffee cup on the table, and got back to work.

Zhang Xusheng arrived in S City a week later.

At seven in the evening, Xu Hao took a cab to the street food place Zhang Xusheng had mentioned. Getting out, he saw the business was booming—tables were set up all the way out into the street.

Zhang Xusheng was waving at Xu Hao from a table near the road.

Xu Hao walked over and saw another man sitting at the table. The guy was in his early thirties, on the chubby side, wearing a green t-shirt with athletic pants and flip-flops, sporting a small mustache. From head to toe, he had this disheveled vibe—probably the director friend Zhang Xusheng had mentioned.

As Xu Hao approached, this director friend stood up along with Zhang Xusheng to greet him. After they sat down, Zhang Xusheng made introductions: "Hao-zi, this is my friend, Yao Qingming, Director Yao. We came to S City together to make a movie, checking out potential filming locations. Thought we'd grab a drink with you while we're here."

Turning to Yao Qingming, he added, "Qingming, this is my high school buddy, Xu Hao. Just got back from the States. Legit young talent, works in finance, super impressive."

Yao Qingming said, "Pleasure to meet you."

Xu Hao smiled, "Nice to meet you, Director Yao. Don't listen to Sheng-zi's bullshit. I'm not all that."

After the introductions, they started ordering skewers and small dishes. The three of them got a case of beer. Overhead, the moon was bright with scattered stars, the weather pleasant—drinking beer in the early autumn breeze felt pretty damn nice.

Xu Hao asked Zhang Xusheng, "So what type of movie are you planning to make? Found any filming locations yet?"

Zhang Xusheng said, "Got some ideas, but the screenwriter isn't here this time, so it's just us two brainstorming. We're thinking of making something like a love story. I'm producing," Zhang Xusheng pointed at Yao Qingming beside him, "and he's directing."

Xu Hao tossed a peanut into his mouth and looked at Yao Qingming. "What do you mean by 'like a love story'?"

Yao Qingming smiled and said, "Well, that's the interesting part. 'Like a love story' means it looks like love, but it's not love in the traditional sense. Plus, both main characters are men, which makes it... complex."

Xu Hao was a bit surprised. "Two guys? Can you even get that into theaters? What's the story about?"

At the mention of the movie, Yao Qingming perked up. He gestured across the table to Xu Hao, "Basically, there are two people. One is a world-famous piano genius—this pianist dies at the beginning. The other person knew the pianist when he was alive. They weren't close, but for certain reasons, he starts investigating the cause of the pianist's death. During his investigation, evidence suggests this wasn't a simple suicide, but a planned, deliberate death event. The whole movie revolves around this investigation."

Xu Hao asked, "And then? What does he find out?"

Yao Qingming looked up and suddenly asked an out-of-nowhere question: "Let me ask you something—do you find life painful?"

Xu Hao was taken aback. "It's... alright, I guess."

Yao Qingming continued, "You clearly don't sweat the small stuff. Here's another question: if someone died because of you one day—suicide, I mean—would you consider yourself the killer, or would it be the person who died?"

Being hit with such a heavy question, Xu Hao couldn't really formulate an answer right away. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "If there really was such a person, I'd only be thinking of ways to keep them alive."

Yao Qingming said, "What about someone who's already dead? After a great genius dies, you discover you're the root cause of it all. The deeper you get into understanding everything, you realize you could have saved them, but they're already gone. What would you do?"

Xu Hao took a sip of beer and said, "Why do I feel like I'm being morally hijacked here?"

Yao Qingming shrugged. "Just put yourself in the scenario. Don't worry about others—I'm just a narrator. It's all hypothetical. Nobody can hijack you. In this context, only you and a dead person know why they died, and the dead can't speak for themselves. So if you still feel morally manipulated, you're the one manipulating yourself."

Xu Hao put down his beer bottle and said, "Fine, let me think. If there really was such a person who lived in pain, and this is 'like a love story,' then his death must be related to his feelings for me. I'd probably feel guilty for the rest of my life—how guilty would depend on what kind of relationship we had. But this is so far removed from my reality, I can't really imagine it."

Yao Qingming smiled, took a sip of beer, and turned to Zhang Xusheng. "Sheng-zi, would your good buddy here be interested in acting in our movie?"

Zhang Xusheng looked surprised. "What's up? Who do you think he could play?"

Yao Qingming said, "Don't you think he looks a bit like Jiang Mingyu? Your friend's got a good look. Interested in getting some screen time, brother?"

Zhang Xusheng, worried Xu Hao wouldn't know the character, explained, "Jiang Mingyu is the guy who doesn't die."

Xu Hao waved his hand dismissively. "Come on, I get nervous just taking pictures in front of a camera, let alone acting. But your story does sound interesting. Why didn't the screenwriter come this time?"

Seeing that Xu Hao was genuinely not interested, Yao Qingming looked a bit disappointed. Zhang Xusheng didn't seem bothered—having Xu Hao play the male lead wasn't realistic anyway. Zhang Xusheng told Xu Hao, "The screenwriter went back to B City, probably fooling around in bed with his boyfriend right now."

Xu Hao said, "Oh, you have a female screenwriter?"

Zhang Xusheng flicked away some melon seed shells from his hand. "Nah, he's a guy. Those two are head over heels for each other every day."

Xu Hao paused, thought about their movie again, and said, "Well, they say art imitates life, right?"

Halfway through dinner, when they'd all had a good amount to drink, Xu Hao got a call from Matthew.

Matthew briefly discussed some work stuff with Xu Hao. Since Xu Hao was feeling a bit tipsy and the matter wasn't super urgent, he suggested they just have a conference call with the three of them tomorrow.

After hanging up, Zhang Xusheng smiled and said, "Those foreign friends of yours are pretty funny. When are they coming back?"

Xu Hao said, "Depends on the timing. Everyone's pretty busy lately." Just then, another call came in—it was Yan Ze.

Xu Hao answered, and Yan Ze said, "Wanna go skiing in Switzerland?"

Xu Hao asked, "When?"

Yan Ze said, "Next month."

Xu Hao thought for a moment, then said, "Sure."

Yan Ze sounded pretty happy on the other end, his tone becoming more animated, "Then it's settled. You'll come with me."

Xu Hao said, "Yeah, yeah, fine."

After hanging up, Zhang Xusheng asked, "Who was that?"

Xu Hao said, "Oh, just Yan Ze."

Zhang Xusheng didn't get it right away. "Who?"

Xu Hao said, "Yan Ze, our high school classmate. Yan—Ze."

Zhang Xusheng shoved Xu Hao. "Fuck, I know which Yan Ze! But how the hell did you two hook up again? How long has it been since you've seen each other?"

Xu Hao said, "It's crazy, right? I've only been back in the country for less than two months, and I ran into him playing ball on the street. He just got back too, also living in S City, so we reconnected. Haven't seen him since high school graduation, I guess."

Zhang Xusheng looked completely baffled. "That's some wild coincidence. Back in school, this Yan Ze wouldn't give anyone the time of day, but somehow you two got along fine. Speaking of which, holy shit, do you know what kind of background Yan Ze's family has?"

Xu Hao picked out a large sunflower seed from the plate. "Heard some things. Pretty extraordinary, I guess."

Zhang Xusheng tapped the table with his chopsticks. "Extraordinary doesn't even begin to cover it. You just got back so you might not know, but I've been in China the whole time, and fuck me—Yan Ze is legitimately one of the top-tier princelings. I won't even talk about his dad—I don't want the authorities checking my water meter*. But his brother, who's supposedly way older than us, almost a generation apart, is basically already in the central government. And his maternal grandfather..." *"Checking the water meter" is a Chinese euphemism for government surveillance or unexpected visits from authorities to check on people who may have said something politically sensitive. It's rarely something that actually happens with serious consequences—more of a political joke or shorthand for self-censorship when discussing potentially sensitive topics.

Xu Hao stuffed a piece of steamed bun into Zhang Xusheng's mouth. "Less talking, more eating."

Zhang Xusheng chewed the grilled steamed bun, looking quite dissatisfied. "How can you have zero curiosity about this stuff?"

Xu Hao said, "Would you give it a rest already?"

[swimuntilseaturnsblue]

Chapter 37

重生之真不挖煤 by 萝卜桑1 Wildfire (Rebirth: I’m Really Not Mining Coal)

raw link：重生之真不挖煤_萝卜桑1著_长佩文学网

Xu Hao scrambled up from the bed, covering his nose. The two guys wailing like they were at a funeral—who else could they be but Young Master Han and Young Master Ming?

Looking past the door, well, well, a few more familiar faces.

He Fusheng and several guys from dinner were there too. They weren't quite as pathetic as these two "young masters," but most had their clothes in disarray, obviously dragged out of their rooms.

And the one leading the charge, face so dark it looked like he was headed to a funeral—was that actually Yan Ze?

Xu Hao was genuinely shocked.

While Xu Hao was still trying to process the situation, Yan Ze had already entered the room, walking like someone who'd had quite a bit to drink. His eyes were heavy with rage as he motioned to the people behind him. Immediately, three or four beefy guys in suits rushed forward, each grabbing an arm of Young Master Han and dragging him out. Han was crying and twisting, trying to break free, and after a few struggles, the only towel wrapped around his waist came loose. The bodyguards didn't seem to care about the eye-scorching sight and just hauled his naked ass out.

Seeing this, Young Master Ming probably realized his troubles were far from over. He turned and crawled up Xu Hao's arm, wiping his tears and snot all over Xu Hao while begging, "Young Master Xu, it's all a misunderstanding! Give me a chance, Young Master Xu!"

Xu Hao had no clue what this guy was screaming about. His upper body was still bare, and this dude was smearing something sticky all over him—sweat or who knows what—making Xu Hao so disgusted he nearly kicked him in the face. But before Xu Hao could do anything, Yan Ze had already walked over and delivered a powerful kick to Ming's side, sending him flying more than a meter away.

Xu Hao forgot to even be grossed out, staring at Yan Ze in astonishment. "Wait, you actually came? How did you find me?"

Yan Ze's eyes were like firecrackers soaked in water. His gaze swept over Xu Hao's bare upper body, and that spark in his eyes immediately ignited, burning even more fiercely. Yan Ze looked back at Ming, who was trembling against the wall trying to stand up, and said in a low voice, "Don't worry about that."

Ming felt dizzy under Yan Ze's death stare, wondering what terrible karma from eight generations back had caused him to piss off such a terrifying dude for no reason. Now that Yan Ze clearly wasn't going to let this go, Ming only regretted that he wasn't the one who'd been dragged away first.

Not caring about his own state of undress anymore, Ming crouched down, covering his head and yelling, "Young Master Xu, save me! It's a misunderstanding, Young Master Xu!"

Yan Ze kicked him again, cutting off his wailing mid-howl. "Misunderstanding my ass, you still wanna 'try'? I'll fucking show you 'try'!"

After a few more kicks, Yan Ze had Ming cornered against the wall, acting like some mob enforcer collecting a debt. Strangely, not a single person stepped up to break up the fight. Xu Hao quickly pulled on his shirt, then turned back and decided this had gone too far. The whole scene looked like someone caught cheating, except the pimp was the one getting beaten up—what kind of situation was this?

Now fully dressed, Xu Hao stepped forward and grabbed Yan Ze, saying, "You bring a bunch of people to my room to beat someone up, then tell me not to get involved? How about you tell me what the hell is going on first?"

Yan Ze turned around, eyes blazing with rage. "Your room? Since when is this your room?"

Xu Hao thought this guy was completely missing the point of the conversation. Everything was happening too fast to make sense of, but as the person at the center of it all, surely this had something to do with him.

Just as Xu Hao was about to ask more questions, someone tugged at his arm from behind. The guy who'd been crouching by the bed the whole time snuck over and whispered in Xu Hao's ear, "Mr. Xu, look how badly Young Master Han and Young Master Ming are suffering. Maybe you should stay out of this."

Xu Hao turned around and saw his male "companion" still wearing nothing but underwear. Xu Hao hesitated before saying, "Maybe you should put your pants on first."

The guy smiled shyly. "Is Mr. Xu concerned about me?"

Xu Hao thought, I'm not concerned about you—I'm worried there'll be a third naked man in this room if things escalate.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, a vicious kick came flying from behind. Yan Ze had raised his foot toward them, shouting, "Fuck, I'm giving you too much face!!!"

Luckily, Xu Hao reacted quickly, grabbing Yan Ze by the waist and pulling him back. The kick narrowly missed the guy's face. Yan Ze struggled violently in Xu Hao's grip, and within seconds, they both tumbled onto the bed. After a few moments of wrestling, Yan Ze's drinking caught up with him, and Xu Hao managed to pin him down at the edge of the bed. Still, Yan Ze's eyes remained bloodshot as he stared at Xu Hao's male companion, straining so hard that veins popped out on his neck as he roared, "Let go! I'm going to fucking kill him today!!!"

Xu Hao was barely holding Yan Ze down, struggling to maintain his grip. Deep down, he doubted he could completely restrain this drunk, raging beast. The two of them wrestled on the bed like they were arm-wrestling. Xu Hao looked up and saw the male companion sitting there stupidly, and immediately yelled in frustration, "What are you waiting for? Get out!"

The guy snapped out of his daze, immediately jumped off the bed, not even bothering to find his clothes, and ran out in two quick strides.

At the door, Lin Duzhi saw that someone was finally able to control the berserk Yan Ze. It didn't take a genius to figure out these two had an unusual relationship. He stopped creating problems for himself and turned to chase everyone out: "Alright, alright, everybody clear out! Go, go, go."

Hearing this, everyone scattered like they'd received a presidential pardon. Even Young Master Ming, who'd been playing dead in the corner, suddenly sprang up from the floor and ran out like his life depended on it.

Xu Hao was in the middle of arguing with Yan Ze, faces red and necks bulging, when he noticed thirty-some people heading for the door. He immediately panicked, "What the fuck? I didn't tell you all to leave! Someone help me out here!"

But nobody paid him any attention. After everyone had cleared out, the last person even thoughtfully closed the door behind them.

Meanwhile, Yan Ze, pinned underneath him, was thrashing around like a wrestler, with a look that said the moment he broke free, he'd go on a killing spree.

Xu Hao was completely done.

After who knows how long, both of them were drenched in sweat. Just when Xu Hao felt like every muscle in his body was starting to ache, the guy underneath finally showed signs of calming down.

Xu Hao was breathing hard, irritably saying, "Can you just chill for one damn minute?"

Yan Ze had his face half-buried in the bed, panting as he told Xu Hao, "Let go of me."

Xu Hao looked down at Yan Ze's sweat-soaked face. "Promise me you'll calm down, and I'll let go."

Yan Ze took another heavy breath and said, "Fine, I'm calm."

Xu Hao slowly released Yan Ze's arms. He'd been gripping them so tightly for so long that you could see clear finger marks on Yan Ze's forearms.

The two of them disentangled themselves from the bed. Xu Hao rolled over to the other side and lay face down, feeling like this night had completely wiped him out. Not only was his body sweaty and his hands sticky, but mentally he'd been through one hell of a complicated journey. Yan Ze, after sitting up on the bed, wasn't much better off. He caught his breath while stretching one leg out straight, the other bent with his elbow resting on it, his eyes fixed intensely on one spot like he was having a staring contest with it.

Xu Hao was lying there almost falling asleep when Yan Ze suddenly grabbed a pillow from beside him and hurled it at the wall. "Fuck! I'm so pissed!"

The noise made Xu Hao flip over in shock. He watched as Yan Ze, still not satisfied with just one hit, proceeded to punch and kick at the wall several more times. Xu Hao had to admire Yan Ze's energy—at three in the morning, causing all this commotion, and still having the strength to take out his anger on a pillow.

Xu Hao's eyelids felt like they were fighting each other, and it was too close to call who'd win. He mumbled indistinctly, "You're not &%&%..."

Being too tired, Xu Hao had no idea what he was saying. Maybe he was asking about the reason for tonight?

But when he got no response, Xu Hao couldn't hold out any longer and sank into peaceful darkness.

--

Early the next morning, Xu Hao first felt like there were dazzling, luxurious lights flashing everywhere, then like there was a mountain pressing down on him.

Opening his bleary eyes, he saw a glass chandelier in his field of vision.

The light was harsh, the craftsmanship extravagant.

Definitely not his house.

Moving his gaze to the right, a pretty handsome man's face came into view.

Xu Hao kept his cool, taking three seconds to review what had happened last night, and then understood his current situation.

Well, no wonder it felt like a mountain was pressing on him—Yan Ze's left arm and left leg were draped over him, plus a heavy down comforter. How could it not be heavy?

Xu Hao tapped the back of his hand against Yan Ze's arm that was underneath his neck. "Hey, um."

No response.

Xu Hao put more force into it. "Hey, wake up."

Yan Ze drowsily lifted one eyelid.

And found himself staring right at Xu Hao's face.

Suddenly, Yan Ze's eyes flew wide open, fixed unblinkingly while he remained frozen in position.

Xu Hao extended his other hand from under Yan Ze's arm and offered some friendly advice, "So, since you're already awake, could you maybe lift your arm and leg? This position we're in is seriously gay."

After three seconds of silence, Yan Ze abruptly jerked upright with such force that he tumbled off the bed, taking the comforter with him.

--

Given the weird way they woke up, both guys very tacitly avoided mentioning a single word about last night.

To be precise, since opening their eyes, verbal communication between them had been minimal.

Xu Hao was relatively okay—although he found last night's events somewhat embarrassing, what happened happened. He just hadn't figured out how to explain this to He Fusheng.

As for Yan Ze, well, after causing such a scene last night, now that he was sober, it was normal for him to feel awkward.

Xu Hao and Yan Ze hastily got themselves together and prepared to leave. As soon as they opened the door, there were about twenty attendants standing outside. Leading them was a middle-aged man who looked rather refined, except he was smiling in this incredibly fawning, boot-licking way. "Young Master Yan, Young Master Xu, awake now? Why not have breakfast before you go?"

Xu Hao felt it was awkward enough having spent a night with Yan Ze in a place like this. He waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "No need, we're leaving right now."

After saying this, Xu Hao turned to look at Yan Ze, intending to check his opinion. But when Yan Ze met his eyes, his expression immediately changed. He turned away and walked out quickly without a word, like his ass was on fire.

Xu Hao watched as Yan Ze's ears instantly turned blood-red. Then he glanced at the guy beside him and the twenty-some attendants behind, all maintaining the same motionless smile, which looked creepy as hell.

Xu Hao really didn't want to stay in this godforsaken place any longer, so he hurried after Yan Ze.