Reservoir Dogs chapter 79
I Want Him to Stay by My Side
At 8 p.m., the city lights were as bright as daylight.
The birthday party was held at a villa on the outskirts of Linshen City, attended by high-profile figures from the political and business circles. It was extremely extravagant, with bands, bars, luxury cars, and waiters mingling through the crowd. Such a lavish celebration of a simple birthday showcased immense wealth and power.
By the time Jiang Chengyuan made a round through the crowd with his drink, it was already past midnight. He finally had a moment to rest on the balcony on the second floor. By then, many guests had left, leaving a more private atmosphere. The air was still filled with a mix of smoke, alcohol, and perfume. There was a splash in the garden as someone jumped into the pool to play. Under the cover of night, stripped of their suits, daytime inhibitions disappeared, and desires were freely indulged at this private party.
Jiang Chengyuan looked down at the chaotic crowd with a cold and detached gaze, feeling both part of and separate from it. Though the party was held in his name, he was merely a facilitator, ultimately to help the law firm network and attract big clients. After spending most of the night socializing, he felt he had done justice to Lin Shen’s efforts.
“Why are you hiding here alone?”
Jiang Chengyuan turned around to see Ji Yang approaching with a cocktail. “You, the main character, are retreating first?”
Leaning against the railing, Jiang Chengyuan let the night breeze cool the back of his neck. “Had too much to drink, needed to sober up.”
Ji Yang stood next to him, downed his drink in one go, and placed the glass on the railing. “Happy birthday. I haven’t given you this year’s gift yet.” He pulled a velvet box from his pocket and handed it over. “See if you like it?”
Jiang Chengyuan took it. “What is it?”
Ji Yang raised an eyebrow. “Open it and see.”
Jiang Chengyuan opened the box to reveal a crocodile leather Vacheron Constantin watch, a pricey gift. He accepted it. “You shouldn’t have.”
Ji Yang said, “Aren’t you going to try it on? Your English name is engraved on it.”
Jiang Chengyuan looked at him sideways. “Ji Yang, what happened at the bar last time was my fault.”
Ji Yang was taken aback, feeling a lump in his throat. After a moment, he waved it off with a smile. “It’s okay, I know it’s not your fault.” He turned towards the night sky, leaning on the railing. “I was drunk too, don’t worry about it. I know you can’t accept it.”
Jiang Chengyuan smiled. “You know I don’t have many friends.”
Ji Yang’s eyes darkened, but he forced a playful smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you become a lone wolf. I can tolerate you for a bit longer.”
They stopped discussing it. Jiang Chengyuan, not angry, pointed to the crowd below. “Not joining them?”
Ji Yang shook his head. “I’m getting too old for that.”
“If you’re old, then what does that make me?”
Ji Yang licked his dry lips and laughed. “You won’t age. At the class reunion, everyone called you the ageless god.”
Jiang Chengyuan laughed. “They’re just joking. No one can beat time.”
He spoke calmly, but Ji Yang felt a sudden melancholy, took a deep breath, and changed the subject. “So you’re planning to spend the night here alone?”
Jiang Chengyuan raised an eyebrow. “Hmm?”
“Isn’t anyone waiting for you?”
Knowing who Ji Yang meant, Jiang Chengyuan paused. “He doesn’t know what day it is, and I didn’t tell him.”
“Why not?”
Jiang Chengyuan thought for a moment. “It’s not necessary.”
Ji Yang widened his eyes. “Is it the birthday or him that’s not necessary?”
Jiang Chengyuan said, “Looking back, neither seems quite right.”
Ji Yang shook his head. “From what happened at the bar, only he can control your pheromones. How can it not be right?”
Jiang Chengyuan pressed his elbow against the railing, a faint smile on one side of his mouth, not a real smile, more like self-mockery. “I think our current state is fine. There’s no need to go further. I can’t give him the same, so I won’t ask for more. He’s already very generous.”
Ji Yang was stunned and then said, “I never thought I’d hear such cautious words from you. So what’s your stance on him?”
Jiang Chengyuan thought for a moment. “I want him to stay by my side.”
“That’s it?”
Jiang Chengyuan nodded.
Ji Yang was momentarily speechless, then said, “You’re shutting yourself off too much, deceiving even yourself.”
Jiang Chengyuan didn’t argue, turned to leave the balcony, and said, “I’ll head down first. If you find this boring, you can leave anytime.”
Ji Yang said, “Are you kicking me out?”
Jiang Chengyuan smiled. “Not at all, just worried you might feel bored but too polite to say so.”
Ji Yang waved. “You’re overthinking. If I were bored, I’d have left long ago.”
Jiang Chengyuan nodded, “Alright, suit yourself.” With that, he left the balcony and went downstairs.
Ji Yang stayed on the balcony for a while longer, then picked up his empty wine glass and walked back inside to the bar to get another drink. A waiter saw him approaching and asked, “Mr. Ji, should I take the cake out of the fridge?”
Ji Yang swallowed a mouthful of whiskey. He had been mixing his drinks, so the alcohol was quite strong. His eyes were a bit hazy, and his reactions were slow. After a moment, he remembered what the waiter was talking about. A faint bitterness rose up as he said, “No, just throw it away.”
“Throw it away?”
Ji Yang nodded, “I just remembered it’s expired. It’s an unmarked product and inedible. Just throw it away.”
The waiter nodded and left.
Ji Yang wandered around the party for a while. The atmosphere was already lively, with everyone finding their own partners. In secluded corners, there were occasional glimpses of kissing and entwining figures. Two or three people noticed he was alone and approached him, but Ji Yang, in a bad mood, had no interest and brushed them off. As Jiang Chengyuan had predicted, he quickly grew annoyed.
After downing the last sip of his drink, Ji Yang called for a car and prepared to leave. Just before he left, he noticed someone leaning against the wall, eating a small cake with a spoon. His alcohol-blurred vision focused, and recognizing the cake, his expression changed. He quickly walked over, “Where did you get that cake?”
The person looked up, saw Ji Yang, and smiled slightly, “Oh, I saw a waiter about to throw it away, but it was still whole, so I asked for it. It tastes pretty good. The cream and fruit are fresh. Want to try?” He said, offering a spoonful to Ji Yang.
Looking at the spoon being offered to him, Ji Yang’s face turned dark. “Judge Liang, you’re really bold, eating a cake that was about to be thrown away. Aren’t you afraid it might be poisoned?”
Liang Hanqing shrugged, “I’ve already eaten half of it. It seems fine. It’s quite sweet, not like store-bought, more like homemade.” Seeing that Ji Yang wasn’t eating, he turned the spoon around and put it into his own mouth.
White cream stuck to his light-colored lips, along with crumbs of the cake. Ji Yang couldn’t help but remember how he had repeatedly dumped failed attempts into the trash, mixed flour and eggs, piped cream flowers… His forehead veins pulsed as he suddenly raised his tightly clenched fist and knocked the cake out of Liang Hanqing’s hand. “Stop eating.”
Liang Hanqing was stunned, his hand frozen in place, with some cream sticking to his clothes and most of the cake splattered on the ground in a red and white mess. His face showed embarrassment, and after a while, he squeezed out a smile, “Alright, I won’t eat it. Why are you so angry?”
Ji Yang also felt his actions were inappropriate. His chest heaved twice as he retracted his raised hand, softening his tone though it still sounded harsh, “Sorry, I’m just in a bad mood.” He glanced at the cream on Liang Hanqing’s clothes, “I’ll pay for your dry cleaning, or better yet, I’ll just buy you a new shirt.” He said, pulling out his phone to transfer money.
Fortunately, Liang Hanqing wasn’t angry. He seemed to have a good temper, tolerating everything. “No need. Last time, I said I’d treat you to coffee, but you ended up paying. Let’s just forget about it this time.”
Ji Yang paused, remembering their last conversation, which ended inconclusively. Liang Hanqing hadn’t clarified many things, always avoiding and diverting the topic, asking about irrelevant matters. It made Ji Yang feel extremely uncomfortable, like sitting on pins and needles in that coffee shop. He saw through Liang Hanqing’s intention to get close to him without revealing anything substantial. Ji Yang wanted to know about Jiang Chengyuan’s past but couldn’t tolerate such a waste of time. Eventually, he paid the bill at the counter and left Liang Hanqing alone in the coffee shop.
“You left without a word, making me wait for you for a long time that day.” Liang Hanqing smiled, “Where were we in our conversation? Oh right, we were talking about my mentor. You’ve heard of him, Wu Yichang, a renowned scholar and lawyer in the country.”
Ji Yang nodded, but it was a perfunctory response. “I got an urgent call that day, sorry about that.” They had talked too much about Wu Yichang, from forming a legal aid team, exonerating those involved in the air gun case and fake vaccine case, using individual cases to promote the rule of law, to being oppressed by authorities, retaliated against by clients, and expelled from the university. These were all moving stories. But that day it was too late, and Ji Yang, knowing most of these stories, was exhausted. Even coffee couldn’t keep him awake, and he had no extra energy to spare for others.
“My mentor had a clear characteristic when taking cases: he only took wrongful convictions and major cases because he was primarily a scholar and only a part-time lawyer. So every bit of his energy had to be used wisely. Moreover, since it was free legal aid, the cases he took on had to be significant and meaningful.”
Ji Yang turned back, “I know all that, you’ve said it before.” He emptied his glass, “I’m not talking to you anymore. My car’s at the door, I’m leaving.”
Just as he turned around, Liang Hanqing suddenly called out to him, “Did you know that Jiang Chengyuan once helped a rapist get off?”
Ji Yang was stunned for a moment and turned around, “What?”
Liang Hanqing said, “My mentor took a case, but his health had problems, so he sent Jiang Chengyuan instead. But unexpectedly, Jiang Chengyuan was deceived, and helped a criminal overturn the case. That person committed a second crime before being caught again.”
Ji Yang stood frozen in place, furrowing his brows. “Is this the incident you mentioned?”
Liang Hanqing leaned against the wall, his eyes somewhat contemplative. “Do you know that the girl who was raped later turned out to be the mentor’s daughter?”
Ji Yang was stunned, his hands and feet suddenly cold.
Liang Hanqing tilted his head slightly. “You just said you were in a bad mood. Why?”
Ji Yang’s mind was still in turmoil, so he didn’t hear what Liang Hanqing said clearly.
Liang Hanqing continued on his own, “Actually, that cake just now was made by you, right? Why didn’t you give it to him?”
Ji Yang suddenly raised his eyes and stared at him. “How did you know?”
Liang Hanqing smiled, “I heard what you said to the waiter. Are you in a bad mood because Jiang Chengyuan rejected you? Don’t be too upset. He can’t like anyone. He feels too guilty, and he should. After all, when that criminal took Wanwan away, he was one of the hostages. When the police arrived, the scene was chaotic. It’s said that Wanwan was assaulted right in front of him.”
Liang Hanqing sighed, “Can you imagine that scene? The daughter of your mentor, a little sister who admires you, being assaulted by someone you once saved. She’s crying and begging you to save her, her clean white dress torn, and you can only watch helplessly, unable to do anything until her lower body is soaked in blood…”
Ji Yang was shaken to his core by the scene he described, his scalp tingling with a chill. Just imagining such a situation was suffocating, let alone experiencing it firsthand. To have released a wolf, to have goodness trampled upon, and to destroy everything cherished.
Ji Yang took a sharp breath. “So, what happened to that girl later?”
Liang Hanqing’s expression turned colder. “She died.”
Ji Yang swayed, overwhelmed with mixed emotions. “And what about Chengyuan? He must have had a hard time accepting it, right?”
Liang Hanqing glanced sideways but hadn’t spoken when Ji Yang’s phone rang.
Ji Yang looked down and saw it was his driver’s call. He took a deep breath and said, “I have to go.”
Liang Hanqing glanced at him and then looked away, his cold expression melting into a gentle smile. “We can talk next time.”
Ji Yang said, “But you haven’t finished what you were saying.”
Liang Hanqing looked at him and asked, “So, do you want to stay, or would you like to invite me over to your place?”
Ji Yang paused for a moment, then nodded, “If you don’t mind, you can come to my place to change clothes.”
Author’s Note:
The next chapter features a secondary CP, so be cautious if you don’t like that.