Deep in the Night - Chapter 31

Gu Yuan sat in the spacious rear seat of the armored RV, narrowing his eyes as he examined the dark-green, lustrous ring in his hand.

At first glance, it appeared to be an ordinary jade ring. Although the color was a vibrant green, the quality of the jade wasn’t considered top-tier because of a visible flaw. What made it unusual was the delicate and rare carving. Gu Yuan had kept it with him for a while, taking it out to study whenever he had a free moment, but he still couldn’t decipher the meaning of the inscription.

Where did this come from?

Why did Fang Jin throw it in the trash can?

The bodyguards on either side remained silent. There was no sound in the rear compartment except for the movement of the vehicle on the road.

After a moment, a female secretary looked up from her documents, seemingly intending to report something to Gu Yuan. But she suddenly noticed the ring, paused, looked at Gu Yuan, and a look of admiring envy crossed her face.

Gu Yuan noticed it with the corner of his eye. “—What, do you recognize this?”

The secretary smiled apologetically. “Not exactly… Could I take a look?”

Gu Yuan hesitated for a moment, then handed the ring over. The secretary carefully took it, holding it in her palm and examining it for a long time before finally smiling: “This should be a pair ring, meant to be worn with a thumb ring. They can be stacked together. The clever part is that when stacked, the engraved strokes on the ring fit together to form the four characters, Èr Rén Píng Xīn – Two People with One Heart/Peace of Mind. Where did you find it? This kind of item isn’t common anymore.”

Gu Yuan’s body slowly stiffened. He sat motionless on the wide, leather back seat.

“…CEO Gu?”

Gu Yuan’s gaze shifted abruptly. He seemed to snap back to attention, but his expression remained impassive: “Oh, I found it in an antique shop.” He took the jade ring back from the secretary, examined it again, then smiled and slipped it into his pocket: “I’ve just been wondering where I could find the other one to complete the set. Keep an eye out for me, too. If you see it anywhere, be sure to tell me.”

The secretary, suspecting nothing, nodded eagerly.

—

When Gu Yuan arrived home, Fang Jin was standing in the kitchen cooking. The entire high-end, two-story apartment, luxuriously decorated with exquisite European-style mahogany, was filled with the savory, sweet, and sour aroma of sweet and sour fish.

Gu Yuan stood at the entrance, took a deep breath, and called out: “I’m home!”

“Why so late?” Fang Jin poked his head out of the kitchen: “Wash your hands and get ready to eat. The fish is done!”

Gu Yuan took off his suit jacket and hung it up. While inspecting the menu for the evening on the dining table, he scoffed coldly through his nostrils: “How long has it been, and you’re already monitoring when your husband comes home? Next, are you going to confiscate my finances and only give me a hundred yuan in pocket money a day? You’re too ruthless, Assistant Fang… Why is there only one meat dish?!”

Fang Jin emerged from the kitchen, carrying the large platter of sweet and sour fish with both hands: “It’s pan-fried veal. What’s wrong?”

“Is the household budget low? Did you spend all your grocery money on clothes and jewelry? Why is there only one meat dish to eat?!”

“Go wash your hands!” Fang Jin lightly tapped Gu Yuan’s hand as he reached for the veal with a chopstick: “There’s sweet and sour fish today, so I only made beef. But there’s also stir-fried assorted seafood and baby cabbage in superior broth. Also, I didn’t have time for soup today. I’ll make you lamb soup tomorrow.”

Gu Yuan was still displeased with only one meat dish. He grudgingly washed his hands and returned to serve two large bowls of rice.

Fang Jin strongly protested: “I can’t eat that much.”

“You must eat. Your appetite is too small. Rice supplements Vitamin B.”

Fang Jin had no choice but to take it. While Gu Yuan eagerly focused on the sweet and sour fish, Fang Jin secretly transferred a large spoonful of rice to his bowl.

Gu Yuan complained, but in reality, he enjoyed the meal. The veal, pan-fried with red wine, was tender and not greasy, with a unique aroma. Pieces of it were neatly arranged on the white plate, drizzled with red wine sauce. The sweet and sour fish was even better; the sauce had permeated the white flesh, so rich that every bite was succulent. The mouth-watering fragrance alone could make one eat three more bowls of rice.

Gu Yuan quickly ate the tenderest meat from the top of the fish belly and then slowly began to eat the fish back, forcibly controlling himself not to touch the meat on the bottom half. Fang Jin didn’t notice this display of self-discipline. He slowly ate half a bowl of rice, put down his chopsticks, and said, “I’m full.”

Gu Yuan swiftly picked up the small remaining piece of fish belly and ate it, saying expressionlessly, “Leave the bowl. I’ll clean up.”

Fang Jin sipped his tea and asked, “Why exactly did you come home so late today?”

“I went to the dock.”

“What were you doing at the dock?”

“…” Gu Yuan took a bite of rice, then said after a moment: “My maternal grandfather sent a batch of goods. He was too busy to go himself and asked me to help supervise it.”

—The situation couldn’t be as simple as he described. It was even possible that Ke Wenlong wasn’t truly too busy and that this was a deliberate attempt to groom Gu Yuan as his successor.

Fang Jin’s hand paused. After a long silence, he asked seemingly casually, “I heard the Ke family has some underworld businesses in Hong Kong. If you get involved rashly, will you…”

Gu Yuan laughed, easily countering: “How do you know everything?”

Fang Jin immediately froze. He always had a quick rebuttal ready and was about to explain, but before he could speak, Gu Yuan changed the subject as if completely forgetting the previous question: “The Ke family is indeed half-black, half-white, but the Old Man has always wanted to go completely legitimate. His biggest complaint about my uncle, Ke Rong, isn’t that he has no children, but that he’s obsessed with the underworld, creating the current awkward, semi-legitimate status of the family, which goes against my grandfather’s business philosophy. So, this batch of goods has nothing to do with the underworld. The Old Man would never let me get involved in that.”

Fang Jin imperceptibly breathed a small sigh of relief.

“Ke Rong has always disliked me precisely because of this. He constantly thinks my grandfather wants to pass the Ke family to me, but that’s just speculation. Oh, by the way, the Old Man asked about you on the phone today.”

Fang Jin’s brow twitched slightly: “Why did Old Man Ke ask about me?”

“He asked me, ‘Why didn’t that handsome young man come? Did you fire him?'” Gu Yuan paused, finding it slightly amusing: “I didn’t mention us. I just told him you were on a business trip, and he didn’t ask again.”

Fang Jin tilted his head to drink his tea, his eyes lowered, staring at the slightly swirling liquid in the cup.

Gu Yuan offered an explanation: “I can’t tell him about us right now. Ke Rong has no heir, which is a major concern for the Old Man. Bringing you up at this moment is too sensitive.”

He paused, then switched topics very naturally, smiling: “I’m telling you this because we’re living together now, and we should naturally meet each other’s families. Since I don’t need to bother with my grandfather’s side, where are your parents currently living? Shouldn’t I pay them a visit?”

Fang Jin’s attitude was perfectly composed, showing no sign of hesitation: “No need. My parents passed away unexpectedly while I was studying abroad.”

Gu Yuan was taken aback.

“So I had no financial support. The last year in Germany was very hard working. I even worked as a waiter in a coffee shop.” Fang Jin smiled and sighed: “I’ll show you photos I took while working sometime. I spoke German well and even got a lot of tips from customers.”

Gu Yuan looked thoughtful, but only nodded and smiled. After a moment, he slowly pushed around the leftover food on his plate, not pursuing the topic of Fang Jin’s parents.

—

The next day, Fang Jin remembered to make the clay-pot lamb soup. Before leaving work, he asked Gu Yuan to take a detour to the supermarket for lamb. Instead, Gu Yuan grabbed his bag and laughed: “We’re not eating at home tonight. I’m taking you somewhere nice.”

“The drunken chicken has been marinating at home all day. Where are you going?”

“Why are you so focused on that chicken? If you want to eat something big, I’ll give you a big one tonight.” Gu Yuan nudged Fang Jin out of the office, unreasonably tugging at his collar to prevent him from escaping. A female assistant saw this from the hallway and, thinking the boss was acting crazy and tormenting his subordinate for fun again, quickly backed away several steps in fear.

Fang Jin was exasperated but helpless. Gu Yuan bundled him into the car. After driving for a while, Fang Jin gradually realized the road led to the shooting range Gu Yuan frequented.

“Have you ever practiced shooting?” Gu Yuan asked casually.

For some reason, hearing this, a nerve deep in Fang Jin’s brain tightened slightly, just as it had countless times before a danger approached. However, the feeling was absurd. The person in front of him was Gu Yuan. If there was one last person in the world who would look out for him, it was Gu Yuan.

“…No,” Fang Jin glanced at his face and whispered, “How would a normal person get a chance to practice shooting?”

Gu Yuan smiled, seemingly completely oblivious to his gaze: “—Then I’ll take you to practice today.”

Gu Yuan didn’t try to hide anything. After arriving at the shooting range, he openly took the Browning Hi-Power Mark III from the secret compartment in the car door in front of Fang Jin and expertly went to his regular shooting lane.

He intended to see what score Fang Jin could get. However, Fang Jin looked completely untrained. Standing in the shooting lane next to Gu Yuan, holding the gun, his posture was all wrong. He aimed for a long time but didn’t dare pull the trigger. A moment later, a gunshot rang out from Gu Yuan’s lane, startling Fang Jin so much that he nearly dropped the gun in his hand, stumbling back several steps.

Gu Yuan found it amusing. He grabbed him and held him close: “You can’t do that. It’s not live ammo. What are you afraid of?”

Fang Jin was deathly pale, unable to speak. Under the bright lights, his lips were tightly pressed together, almost bloodless. A thin layer of forced, fragile courage floated in his eyes.

Gu Yuan’s gaze flickered. He wondered, could the gun that was moved that day really have nothing to do with him? Or was it just his own illusion, and the Browning in the secret compartment hadn’t been moved at all?

“It’s louder than I thought…” Fang Jin said slowly, sounding slightly embarrassed: “I thought it would be like in the movies…”

“That’s because you’re not wearing ear protection, and I’ve already added a suppressor,” Gu Yuan laughed, wrapping his arms around him from behind and guiding his hand holding the gun to aim at the target.

The position completely enveloped Fang Jin in his embrace. The white tip of Fang Jin’s ear, beneath his soft dark hair, was pressed right against Gu Yuan’s cheek, making Gu Yuan slightly distracted. Fang Jin, however, was completely oblivious. His entire focus was on the target. Because of his intense concentration, the finger Gu Yuan held was trembling slightly, failing to press the trigger several times.

Gu Yuan gently bit his earlobe. The moment Fang Jin’s whole body trembled as if electrocuted, Gu Yuan pressed down on his index finger.

—BANG!

A bright red number flashed on the target pole: 10 rings.

Fang Jin let out a breath of relief. Gu Yuan put down the gun and laughed heartily.

Perhaps the malicious mockery in his laughter was too obvious. Fang Jin rolled his eyes without hesitation, rubbed his red ear, threw down the gun, and walked away.

Afterward, Fang Jin refused to step into the shooting lane again, insisting on waiting for Gu Yuan at the tea area outside. Perhaps because it was real-fire shooting, his fear and discomfort didn’t seem faked at all; it was exactly the reaction of a normal person encountering a firearm for the first time. Gu Yuan had been the same when he first started practicing as a child, but he was bolder. His initial fear and curiosity quickly faded, unlike Fang Jin, who was fundamentally timid.

However, for some unknown reason, Fang Jin’s reaction of avoiding the firearm completely made Gu Yuan feel an extremely hidden sense of relief deep inside—even though he himself didn’t know why he had been holding his breath in the first place.

He shot three hundred rounds, showered, and walked out of the shooting range. Seeing Fang Jin sitting on the tea lounge sofa looking at a tablet, he casually tossed the towel at him and sneered: “Little girl.”

Fang Jin, looking at a company contract, retorted: “Thug.”

Gu Yuan’s wet short hair, ruffled by the towel, stood up in tufts on his head, making his face look exceptionally handsome and unruly. He suddenly leaned close to Fang Jin and bared his white teeth: “Wait until we get home tonight. I’ll show you what a thug is.”

“…” Fang Jin probably wanted to retort, but after staring at Gu Yuan for a moment, he couldn’t think of anything and just blinked his eyes in vexation.

Gu Yuan made a face, smugly going to get the car.

—

They left the shooting range and went to a nearby place for dinner. By the time they finished, it was completely dark and very late.

The shooting range was located in a remote area. It would take at least an hour to drive home from there. There were few cars on the road. Gu Yuan told Fang Jin to sleep in the passenger seat. He turned on the high beams and drove onto the highway, suddenly seeing a bright car light appear on the smaller road behind them in his rearview mirror.

At first, he didn’t pay attention. He kept his speed smooth since Fang Jin was already leaning on his shoulder, drowsily falling asleep.

However, the car behind him suddenly accelerated, changed lanes, and began driving parallel to him in the right-hand lane. Gu Yuan frowned. He glanced over and could vaguely make out that the vehicle was an SUV in the darkness. Although they were very close, the windows were one-way, making it impossible to see inside. As an heir raised in a wealthy conglomerate, Gu Yuan had received the most comprehensive security training from a young age. Faced with this situation, he instinctively nudged the steering wheel slightly, moving closer to the left side of his lane.

A few seconds later, the SUV also drifted over, almost hugging the line of his lane. Gu Yuan’s brow twitched. He abruptly stepped on the gas to accelerate. In that instant, the centrifugal force caused Fang Jin’s body to slide. He looked up dazedly and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Gu Yuan had no time to answer. The SUV slammed into them!

Screech!

The harsh, metallic scraping noise vibrated their eardrums. In a thousandth of a second, Gu Yuan’s Maybach accelerated to escape, but the rear of the car was still violently forced inward!

“Hold on!” Gu Yuan shouted: “Someone is trying to ram us!”

Fang Jin snapped his head around. Their car was in the leftmost lane, right next to the highway guardrail. The SUV on the right was closing in, crashing into them for a second time!

The vehicle’s mass was at least one and a half times that of the Maybach. At the current speed, it could easily smash Gu Yuan off the highway and into the guardrail.

The attacker was intentional.

Gu Yuan shifted gears, hit the accelerator, downshifted, and turned the steering wheel almost in one seamless motion. In a flash of lightning, the Maybach narrowly dodged the SUV’s impact again, but the sound of the rear door being violently scraped was accompanied by a severe sway. The entire car body was forced toward the guardrail under the pressure, emitting a grinding sound that grated on their teeth!

Fang Jin shouted sharply: “Be careful!”

—THUD! A heavy, muffled sound. In the impact, Gu Yuan’s head slammed hard against the window.

In that instant, his grip on the steering wheel loosened. The Maybach lost control like a runaway horse, its rear wheels instantly spinning out!

The SUV roared, closing in for another squeeze. In this crucial moment, Fang Jin pulled open the compartment in front of the passenger seat and grabbed the gun.

He didn’t think about anything. His mind was blank, yet his heart was extremely calm—

It had been this way for a long time. In that moment of life or death, he was always composed, as if the fear of death, which had clung to his soul like a shadow since childhood, had been completely drained away.

He rolled down the window, raised the gun, and aimed at the SUV’s front tire.

—BANG!

The bullet sliced through the night. The SUV’s front tire exploded, instantly illuminating with bright sparks.

The next second, the entire vehicle was violently lifted, standing up at a ninety-degree angle due to the terrifying thrust of the back wheel. Then, with a loud crash, it fell, rolling and instantly tumbling dozens of meters down the highway!

BOOM—!

The road surface trembled from the massive impact. The next second, the Maybach slammed on its brakes. Gu Yuan violently brought the car to a screeching halt amidst the sharp friction of the tires, then abruptly turned to look at Fang Jin.