Room 208 in the Z University Medical School female dormitory was as lively as ever.

“Then, the phoenix went abroad, and the crow, now despised, was kicked from its perch.”

“What happened next?” Five pairs of eyes in the darkness turned simultaneously toward the lower bunk.

“That’s all,” came the soft voice.

“Tch.” All five heads withdrew at once.

“As expected of Little Six’s story – very uninteresting,” someone yawned.

“I thought the crow would cling desperately to the phoenix tree, refusing to be displaced by other phoenixes. Third-rate script, third-rate director, third-rate actors. Only the pretty boy was somewhat watchable; the rest, pass,” another critiqued.

“This is so tragic, so tragic. A crow and a phoenix – such tragic love!” someone clutched their heart dramatically.

“Hey up there, next time don’t use dialect, especially not Tianjin dialect to imitate Lin Daiyu,” came a calm voice.

“What! Us Tianjin folks can’t even use our dialect? How are we supposed to live!” The dramatic one pounded the bed frame, showering dust on the calm speaker below.

Then the one below started climbing up, leading to a bout of tickling and suppressed laughter that nearly collapsed the bed.

From the opposite top bunk, the yawning one spoke lazily: “I’ll count to three. If you two don’t stop, I’m throwing both you and the bed out of 208.”

From the bottom bunk opposite, the critic snickered: “I enthusiastically support Big Sis.”

The dramatic one froze, while the calm one coughed lightly: “Little Six’s story wasn’t bad, at least it taught us that love across species never ends well. That’s all, Little Five, your turn to add something.”

Near the door on the top bunk, the one called Little Five checked her electronic clock, her eyes brightening: “Stop arguing, you annoying lot! DJ Yan’s ‘Sometimes’ is starting. Want to listen?”

The one called Big Sis burrowed deeper into her towel blanket, speaking lazily: “Your sister’s getting old, past the age for chasing stars. Unlike you kids with time and energy to spare.”

The others just yawned and turned over, showing no interest.

Little Five dejectedly put on her headphones but heard a gentle knock from the bedboard below. Turning around, she saw Little Six hanging onto the bed frame, head tilted, smiling: “Fifth Sister, I want to listen too.”

Little Five’s face lit up: “Ah, our Ah Heng knows what’s good, our Little Six is so cute. Come, come into Fifth Sister’s embrace.”

Let’s Sometime together.

Sometimes.

B City.

He arrived at Cutting Diamond right at eleven at night.

B City’s most famous nightclub – Cutting Diamond – to be precise, was a place where you could get any pleasure you desired, as long as you could afford it. Magnificent and dazzling.

He casually tossed his car keys to the attendant – seemed new, with delicate features, and hadn’t seen him before.

“Sir, are you parking?”

This person didn’t recognize him.

He nodded, striding forward, the basket in his right hand swaying heavily.

“Sir, wait, the underground parking is full right now.”

The young attendant looked troubled.

Another attendant, the familiar Xiao Zhou, came over, took the red key from the young attendant, and waved him away.

“Young Master Yan, he’s new and doesn’t know better. Please don’t mind him,” Xiao Zhou apologized with a bow. “Shall I park it in your usual spot, next to Young Master Lu and Young Master Xin?”

Yan Xi showed some impatience: “Whatever.”

Xiao Zhou smiled ingratiatingly: “You’ve finally arrived. The young masters were getting anxious. Young Master Lu asked me to come down and meet you.”

He nodded, handing the basket in his right hand to Xiao Zhou. A small head suddenly poked out from the basket, fluffy like a towel.

“Oh, what a beautiful dog. Young Master Yan’s pet?” Xiao Zhou smiled.

He replied carelessly while walking: “It’s been constipated lately, don’t feed it meat.”

The puppy whimpered pitifully, pawing at the basket with tearful eyes.

He turned around, gently scratching under the puppy’s chin with his slender index finger, half-smiling: “I’m not your mother, that trick won’t work on me.”

Xiao Zhou flattered: “This dog is really intelligent and clever. Must have cost quite a bit?”

“Picked it up from the market, didn’t cost anything.”

Xiao Zhou’s face froze briefly before breaking into a smile: “Young Master Yan sure likes to joke, this dog looks expensive.”

Yan Xi spoke flatly: “Xiao Zhou, you’re planning to become an MB, aren’t you?”

Xiao Zhou’s smile faltered: “Young Master Yan, I’m too ugly for that line of work.”

Cutting Diamond regularly selected batches of Money Boys, usually good-looking young men forced by circumstances, training them to satisfy the curiosity of wealthy men seeking novel experiences.

Yan Xi spoke with light mockery: “With such a silver tongue at pleasing customers, should I recommend you to your boss?”

Xiao Zhou fell silent.

Yan Xi took the elevator to the seventh-floor VIP area. As soon as he opened the door and saw four people sitting around playing mahjong in the spacious room, he frowned and turned to leave.

Xin Dayi poked his head out: “Hey hey, where are you going, beautiful?”

Sun Peng picked up tiles, smiling: “Come back, we didn’t expect you to play mahjong.”

Chen Juan tossed out a tile: “Young Master Yan, would it kill you to learn mahjong?”

Lu Liu looked up, also smiling: “He can’t even recognize all the tiles, how can he learn?”

Yan Xi walked over, glaring with his big eyes: “What do you mean I can’t recognize tiles?”

Lu Liu held up a bird-shaped tile, tapping it against the table: “What’s this?”

Yan Xi stared for a moment before cursing: “Damn, isn’t that… a bird? Lu Liu, are you insulting my IQ!”

Three of the four at the table burst out laughing.

Well, child, although it looks like a bird and is indeed a bird, it’s not called a ‘bird’ but ‘one of bamboo.’

Sun Peng: “Haha, beautiful Yan, come here too brother, you’re too adorable. I’ll teach you.”

Yan Xi frowned: “You guys continue, pretend I was never here.” He turned to leave.

Lu Liu grabbed him, pushing him into a nearby chair, his eyes twinkling: “Come on, just brothers joking around.”

Yan Xi waved his hand: “Alright, alright, what do you all want? I’m exhausted from doing the show, just want to sleep.”

Xin Dayi puzzled: “Yan Xi, are you that short on money? Brothers, even Lu Liu isn’t as busy as you, between radio DJ work and runway modeling.”

Yan Xi raised an eyebrow: “Too much money burning your hands?”

Mary curled his lips: “That’s not the point. The key is, Young Master Yan, weren’t you the one who hated crowded places the most?”

Sun Peng formed a pyramid with his hands, his handsome face showing a hint of mischief as he looked at him suggestively: “By the way, Yan Xi, that handsome stranger seen leaving Chu Yun’s house the other day was you, right? The papers said the figure resembled DJ Yan.”

Yan Xi responded blandly: “You all have too much free time on your hands, don’t you?”

Xin Dayi scratched his head: “Chu Yun, who’s that?”

Chen Juan threw a grape at him: “You’re hopeless. You don’t even know Chu Yun? The top female broadcaster, voted the most desirable woman in B City by online polls.”

Xin Dayi suddenly realized: “Oh, the 36D one, now I remember.”

Chen Juan threw a mahjong tile at him.

Xin Dayi raged: “Damn, you trannie, have you gone crazy?”

Lu Liu looked up, asking Yan Xi: “You haven’t developed real feelings, have you?”

Yan Xi laughed coldly: “So what if I have?”

Lu Liu smiled faintly: “It wouldn’t matter, except if reporters keep digging, they might expose your family background. You know better than I do what kind of woman Chu Yun is.”

Yan Xi felt annoyed, but before he could speak, his phone rang. The ringtone was Sunmin’s “The Rose,” quite melodious, though rather incongruous with the conversation’s atmosphere, making it seem comical.

Yan Xi went out to take the call.

When he returned, his expression wasn’t good. His large eyes glanced at Lu Liu as he smiled without humor: “What do you mean?”

Lu Liu picked up the red wine from the table, swirled it, and asked casually: “About what?”

“How did I end up as a model for Lushi’s autumn fashion show?” Yan Xi grew impatient.

Lu Liu smiled faintly, his face unperturbed: “I shortlisted eight people yesterday, none quite fit the image. Someone on the board suggested DJ Yan might be good, and asked me to consider it.”

Sun Peng leaned in to look at the proposal, thoughtfully: “Elegant, angular, proud, enchanting – hits all four themes of the proposal. Not bad.”

Then, his peach blossom eyes filled with mirth as he sipped red wine and looked up: “Yan Xi, give it a try.”

Lu Liu decanted new wine into glasses, distributed them, and clinked glasses with everyone. His lips showed no smile though his eyes held three parts amusement. When he reached Yan Xi, he spoke softly: “I’ll toast, you do as you please.”

Yan Xi raised an eyebrow, tilted his head back, and gulped. The red liquid flowed past his slightly reddened lips into his throat, his fair neck stark against the crimson, somewhat dazzling.

Lu Liu watched him, his gaze growing profound, like ripples in an ancient well, momentarily city-toppling beautiful.