Chapter 46
The cool breeze blew along the green water of the lake, Su Bai occasionally grabbed a handful of fish food and threw it into the lake. Colourful fish swam with their mouths open to grab the food, swaying their full bright colours as if they were competing for favour with the person who threw the food.
“Master Su, it’s been a long time since I saw you.” There were only two men left under the little roof, and Tang Xiao stood on the edge of the low couch with his hands in his pockets. A faint smile raised at the corner of his mouth, the man’s dark blue eyes reflecting the relaxed person in front of him.
“Mr. Tang is the one who is impressive, it’s only been a few days since we’ve seen each other and already we’re getting literary.” With a soft smile, he picked up the soft towel handkerchief he had set aside and wiped the hand that had touched the fish food.
“It has been sixteen days and three hours since we last saw each other.” Tang Xiao glanced at the watch on his left wrist, “Forty-three minutes.”
Master Su changed the position of his legs, and his hand that held the smoking gun pointed to the side, “Sit down, Mr. Tang, are you not tired of standing? I’m too tired looking up at you.”
“I don’t know when we’ve become so polite, Su Bai. You’re deliberately avoiding me.” Tang Xiao took a step forward and sat straight down on the edge of the low couch, which was large yet a little cramped with two men on it.
Tang Xiao searingly stared at the man in front of him who always looked like he was in the clouds. His right hand then caressed Su Bai’s ankle without a word, the cold and slippery touch diffused in his palm. A cool breeze blew by and the water surface of the tea cup on the coffee table rippled.
“What are you talking about Mr. Tang, you are the first outsider to step into the Su family mansion since my return.” Su Bai did not pull back his held foot. He went with the flow and stretched forward, stepping on Tang Xiao’s hard stomach. Gently rubbing it once or twice, a pair of slightly upturned phoenix eyes were brimming with light.
Su Bai slightly propped up his upper body, his right hand lightly teasing the handsome man’s firm jaw. He moved closer to Tang Xiao’s ear to exhale a warm whisper, “I don’t know, when have we ever been intimate?”
“I thought I wasn’t an outsider to you.” Grabbing Master Su’s restless foot with one hand, a gloomy look sank into the bottom of Tang Xiao’s eyes, “If you want to get rid of me over this, then it won’t be as you wish.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Are you mistaking me, Su Bai, for a person who tears down bridges just because I’ve left you out for a few days? Am I that kind of person? I was busy the other day. Don’t be too angry.” With a faint smile, Su Bai lay back down on the low couch, the sole of his foot held by Tang Xiao tickled a little, and he moved his toes. The spot that his toes moved against was where Tang Xiao had the most difficulty tolerating.
“You sound like you’re teasing a puppy with that tone of voice.” Tang Xiao’s voice lowered a few notches.
“Oh, how could I dare ask Mr. Tang to be my puppy?” Master Su rubbed Tang Xiao’s area violently a few times with a calm and natural look.
Tang Xiao’s body leaned forward, and his eyes were fixed on the man’s face, lips gently touching on the back of Su Bai’s hand resting on his knee, “You’re stirring up a fire here.”
“Then you should be careful or you can burn yourself to the ground from the flames.” With a thrust from his knee, Su Bai pushed Tang Xiao away before pointing to his shoes by the low couch with his smoking gun, “Why don’t we take a walk together.”
The current Master Su was not to be messed with. Although he had just recently regained his position, but under this different shell was the same person. As long as Su Bai wanted, Tang Xiao could never walk into the Su family mansion in a dignified manner. Climbing over the wall did not count.
“Let me serve you.” The man’s feet and ankles were occasionally held by Tang Xiao’s fingers, eating a little tofu.
Su Bai did not mind these small gestures of Tang Xiao’s, he got off from the low couch and took Tang Xiao around the Su family mansion. Not long after walking a servant ran over, holding a fresh bouquet of small daisies. Master Su took the flowers and sent the servant away, he took out a card from the flowers with a small line of poetry written on it:
The farthest distance in the world
It’s not that I can’t say I love you
It’s that I miss you so much that it hurts
But I can only bury it deep in my heart
–Chen Yuan, who misses you terribly
“See, someone is even more poetic than me, I bet he couldn’t even recite a love poem when he was around you. Now he can deliver flowers with love poems when he’s a country away,” Tang Xiao looked away and said rather sourly, “I remember I sent you flowers every day for the past few days, where did you put them?”
“Definitely not the bin.” Su Bai casually threw the flowers in the flower garden.
“Looks like they’re in the flower garden.” Tang Xiao sighed rather hurt, “I thought I was at least special in your heart.”
“Everyone I’ve ever slept with is special in my heart.”
“You really broke my heart with that statement.”
Master Su raised his eyebrows and reached out to stroke towards Tang Xiao’s chest, “Does it still hurt then?”
“One more kiss and it definitely won’t hurt anymore.”
“You’ve been given nine inches and still want to add an inch.” The light touch changed to a heavy fist smashing down, Master Su lightly laughed and turned to walk up the stairs, the servants in the house consciously bent down and retreated.
Going upstairs and turning right, Su Bai said as he walked, “Chen Yuan took a group of Su family members out of England, and some of the Su family’s original business with him. I’ve done some calculations and the only person I can trust now is you.”
Walking to the door of the study and pressing the code with the fingerprint, Master Su unlocked the door and walked in, followed closely by Tang Xiao. Tang Xiao looked at the man as he sat straight down in the soft chair by the window, no matter how much Su Bai really meant with his words, it always sounded good to his ears.
“I would be more than happy to accept the task of assassinating Chen Yuan.”
Su Bai took a light puff from his cigarette as he raised his eyes to look at Tang Xiao, who was approaching him, and said with a smile, “Only I can move him, and do you think the Su family is the only one in Western Europe? The strongest walls in the world are not broken by outsiders, but crumble down due to internal rot.
Knowing that this heavy-handed master would not bring him here for no reason, Tang Xiao pulled the chair up next to the man before sitting down.
Master Su put his hand on Tang Xiao with natural ease. His face was a little sad as he continued, “Even if I have you behind me now, how long might I last? What I want is a complete and strong Su family. As long as I don’t have such a Su family in my hands, I won’t feel at ease. You are the only one who knows my secret, from A City to Hong Kong and now to London, you are the only one I can trust and rely on.”
The words spoken from the bottom of his heart were so heartfelt that it was hard for Tang Xiao to maintain his composure. Tang Xiao took hold of the man’s hand resting on his lap. Regardless of whether the words spoken today were true or not, he was already content hearing them from Master Su’s lips. No matter what, from the first day he became infatuated with this man, Tang Xiao knew that his dedication would not necessarily be reciprocated by Su Bai, but at least now he knew he did have a place in Su Bai’s heart.
“I will not betray your trust.” Looking directly into the man’s eyes, every word Tang Xiao said was also from his heart.
The impact of this serious look was so strong that Master Su put down his smoking gun and reached out to cover the other man’s eyes, his body leaning over to gently drop a kiss on Tang Xiao’s lips, “Next week will be Su Bai’s funeral, you can stay at my place for these days.”
“Not only does it not hurt here now, but it’s full of sweetness.” Holding the man’s hand against his chest, Tang Xiao knew he would not be able to escape Su Bai in this lifetime.
……
……
How does it feel to attend your own funeral?
As far as Su Bai was concerned it was a good feeling. He could do whatever he liked with his own funeral and leave all the melodrama and stuff to the wayside, skipping the speeches of praise and glory. The more simple the funeral, the better. There are not many people in the world who can give their own funeral.
What was the best part?
You could stand by and clearly see who had shed a few tears over your ‘death’, who was standing expressionless from start to finish, or who was laughing with the person next to them.
It was all there for him to see, clear and true.
After months of “disappearing” and “not knowing whether he was alive or dead”, the former head of the Su family finally came to an end with this funeral. A funeral, and a way of sending a message to the outside world that the person in charge of the Su family from now on was no longer Su Bai nor Chen Yuan, but a man named Su Mo.
When the great families of the underground and lawful, and the powerful people of Western Europe received the invitation from the Su family, none of them expected that this internal turmoil in the Su family would end so quickly. Even more so that a man with a background so clean would end up at the top of the Su family’s throne.
Whenever Su Bai thought of his “old friends” looking for information about Su Mo, only to find out that Su Mo was just an illegitimate son and an ordinary university teacher, he would feel happy. It felt like he was screwing with those fools.
And when all those old guys who used to be his contemporaries retired one by one, he, Su Bai, was still standing at the top of the Su family.
“Why do I think you’re happy.” Tang Xiao stood by Master Su’s side from the beginning to the end, and Su Bai had very much given himself face today by changing into a solemn black. The two standing side by side had become the most eye-catching presence in the entire memorial service.
Some people were secretly observing the current big boss who resembled the former Su family leader. Others were speculating about the identity of Tang Xiao, who stood closest to Su Mo in the Su family’s current affairs.
“You’re jumping into the Su family’s pit by standing with me now.” While others were observing him, Master Su was also secretly observing every figure who came to the memorial service. How many people were still worthy of the Su family’s cooperation? Who did he had to fight for to come to his side?
From the current situation, even if Chen Yuan took away a group of people from the Su family, the majority of the triads had still chose to continue to cooperate with the Su family. Su Bai secretly thought to himself, he would have to ask Su Qicheng and the others to go back and give these old pals a chat, a drink and a piece of mind.
The only thing that worried Su Bai was that Interpol in Europe had no one stepping to power yet. He heard that Ye Ziwu’s godfather had recently fallen ill, and not knowing if the old man could still hold out, or if he planned to support Ye Ziwu to the top.
In case the Interpol side really was Ye Ziwu as the leader in the future, then he would have to work hard.
“Wherever you are, even in hell I will jump.” The atmosphere at the memorial service suddenly froze as Tang Xiao finished his words. A tall man wearing black sunglasses walked in with silent steps, with people around him casting either curious, puzzled, or suspicious at the man.
It was a sad state of affairs, not many people came to the memorial service to give their condolences, many come in without buying tickets just to watch a show.
“I thought it would be Harry who was coming, not his godson Ye Ziwu.” Seeing the man walking towards the hearse, Tang Xiao’s eyes narrowed slightly and his voice was low, “This is a statement of sorts from the righteous outlaws, it seems that from now on Ye Ziwu will be the one to pull the strings with the major families in Western Europe.”
“He’s a stubborn kid who’s both soft and hard.” Master Su sighed, the Great God of Fate was really playing tricks on people, and now he had to continue to be involved with Ye Ziwu.
Tang Xiao expressed his concern, “Ye Ziwu’s ‘importance’ to the Su family is known to people all over the world, how many people do you think are here now waiting to see you, the new man in power, get defeated?”
“Ye Ziwu just has some misunderstandings about Su Bai, but…” Master Su glanced at the black and white photo hanging on the hearse and his mouth twitched, “It’s all in the past.”
The person who was alive now was Su Mo, a person who was still on good terms with Ye Ziwu. If those fools wanted to wait to see the Su family suffer, then in the end it will only be them who had nothing better to do than to gloat.
Ye Ziwu strode to the front of the funeral hall, took off his sunglasses with no expression and bowed towards the coffin with Su Bai’s set of clothes and the monochrome framed photo, then walked up to Su Bai and Su Yu, who were Su family members.
When he saw Su Bai, Ye Ziwu did not show anything special expressions, but standing face to face like this, Master Su still saw a flash of surprise and – concern in Ye Ziwu’s eyes?
This child was really too kind.
As the family responded to the condolences, Master Su suddenly crossed the crowd and stepped forward to hold Ye Ziwu’s hand, as if he did not feel the countless eyes from all directions in this instant. His pair of thick ink eyes were fixed on the man in front of him, “Master Su died suddenly, I think he must have had a lot to tell you.”
Ye Ziwu was extremely clever in understanding that Master Su had something to say and his voice was gentle, “Then please allow me to stay for a moment later.”
See, done just like that.
Su Bai smiled and patted Ye Ziwu’s hand. Tang Xiao then instructed someone to take Ye Ziwu aside to sit and rest first. The two men’s eyes met mid-air and an invisible smell of gunpowder instantly permeated.
And just then the bigger dynamite came; a sudden commotion outside. Su Bai vaguely heard someone mention a person’s name – Chen Yuan.
Master Su’s funeral, even if it was a fake, how could Chen Yuan not be present?
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