Chapter 2 (part 1)

To say he was exhausted was an understatement.

A sleepless night, eighteen hours of travel and the time zone change had liquefied him. When he landed in Beijing, he was literally a shadow of his former self. All he wanted was a warm bath and the comfort of a soft mattress. Perhaps he would even allow himself a frugal meal in between.

With the last strengths, Adam headed off to complete the paperwork for entry and dragged himself to retrieve his luggage.

Despite the late hour, the airport was packed with people, so he found it challenging to find a free taxi. He was far too tired to go in search of public transport, but the long wait for a free car was taking away the last bits of lucidity.

Due to the tiredness and the bedlam, he was on the verge of a severe migraine.

He massaged his temples to relieve the slight pain drumming in his head. With his head bowed, he did not notice a black luxury car that had pulled up alongside the pavement where he was waiting.

"What a coincidence!" Said a grumpy voice from the back seat.

Adam jumped. He knew very well who the obnoxious stamp belonged to. Comfortably seated inside that car was Zhao Shang Chiang, his cousin.

He slowly raised his head to look at his hated relative. Then, with a sharp nod, he waved goodbye, and as if nothing had happened, he picked up his luggage and headed for the nearest underground station.

"Where are you going? I'll give you a ride."

A rattlesnake's instead bite me, Adam thought, taking the stairs that would take him safely from that inauspicious encounter.

"Adam! Adam! Adam!" Shang Chiang continued to call to him until he disappeared from his sight.

His shouting had attracted the attention of many people, and all were now watching the young man intent on calling out to someone in the middle of the crowd.

Farewell to the possibility of living quietly for some time, Adam thought before boarding the underground car.

***

An unconscious bystander watched as the two cousins met. Then, after his evident surprise at what had happened, he decided to pull his mobile phone out of the pocket of the leather jacket he was wearing.

He didn't even need to scroll through the phone book because the number he was interested in was the first one on the speed dial. So he clicked on it and waited for his caller to answer.

"Yes?" A warm baritone voice answered from the other end of the line.

"Adam's here!" he reported.

"Don't do anything. I'll take care of it myself," the person ordered after a moment of silence.

The communication was abruptly cut off. The man shrugged his shoulders and proceeded to the motorbike parked nearby. But, knowing his interlocutor well, the young man was not going to have it easy.

***

Arriving home, Adam let himself fall onto the sofa he found in the living room. The migraine had taken over, so he decided to wait a moment before showering and going to sleep.

He didn't have the strength to do anything.

In a small corner of his heart, he had nurtured the hope to not meet anybody from his past. At least not the first few times he was there. Instead, he had run into his cousin not even an hour after his arrival.

Fate was not on his side.

He was sure that by now, Ming Chun Chu also knew of his arrival and, as a result, would move to make his life hell.

"Your mere presence in this house ruins the good name of this esteemed family," these had been his grandfather's last words to him seven years earlier.

That same evening, immediately after the fierce altercation and the ensuing attack, Adam had struggled to gather some of his belongings. Finally, he had left the old man's house forever.

Since then, he had buried the experience in the darkest corner of his memories: his grandfather and the Ming family; the difficulties he had encountered; the harassment he had suffered.

Only one memory returned to his thoughts from time to time. Then, a lashing look and a mocking smile would sneak into his dreams, making his heart race.

When this happened, he would wake up in a tangle of crumpled sheets, drenched in sweat with the echo of that deep voice that called him Xiao Wū Mù in the climax of lovemaking.

The night before, it had happened again. He had dreamed him.

Hēi Sé.

His first love, his only love, because it had been impossible for him to trust anyone else after him.

The man who had tormented, challenged and loved him. But, no, he had not loved him, never. Instead, he had used him as an outlet while waiting to reach his absolute goal.

And he had fallen for it; he had allowed himself to be beguiled by those two black pools that were brazenly squaring up to him. He had believed every single word of love and had allowed himself to be seduced by every kiss and caress.

Even now, he could clearly remember her large hands eagerly exploring every inch of his body, the intoxicating smell of their skins brushing against each other, and the sweet melody of their moans of pleasure.

He had been a foolish dreamer, but he had learned his lesson and hard.

At the moment, he had only two goals in mind. The first was his new job assignment, and the other, to avoid any contact with unwanted people as far as possible. With this last thought in mind, he headed for the bathroom to take his much-needed shower.

After a shaky night's sleep, the following day, he got up early to sort out his belongings and do some shopping. He had a whole day before he had to plunge into work.

First, he studied the new house, not that there was much to explore. It wasn't huge, but at least it was new; a functional kitchen with a small living room, a sitting room, and a cozy bedroom with an en-suite bathroom was all that was included. The furniture was minimalist, and there was a preponderance of black and taupe in the colors.