“xxxx year x month x day

I was careless. How could I let a bird go into water?”

The day after the birthday party, Yu Jiaze was called back to the old residence by Father Yu for dinner.

He knew clearly in his heart that this was a Hongmen banquet where he’d have to pay for his impulsiveness.

He rubbed his temples, got out of the car, and walked toward the main residence.

It was only dusk now, less than an hour since he’d finished his last social engagement, his stomach stuffed full. But the old man didn’t care about such things. He was accustomed to eating early, and besides, this was the time when Yu Chenyang came home from school. A growing boy couldn’t be left hungry, of course.

The dishes on the table were even less to his taste—bland and light, not a single one that aroused any desire to pick up chopsticks.

Without any surprise, he swept his gaze across the entire table, picked up a nearby vegetable with his chopsticks, and chewed it in his mouth for ages like it was chewing gum.

Father Yu took a sip of matsutake soup, glanced at Yu Jiaze’s actions, and said very disapprovingly: “Your table manners are worse than Chenyang’s.”

Yu Jiaze looked at Yu Chenyang with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. Feeling the gaze, the boy shivered even in the dog days of summer and pressed his head lower into his rice bowl.

“Of course that’s because you two taught well.”

He deliberately looked at the woman sitting beside Yu Chenyang—his “stepmother.”

Hearing this, the woman laughed awkwardly: “Not at all. Our Chenyang still falls far short of his older brother.”

Yu Jiaze shook his head exaggeratedly: “When it comes to being servile and submissive, I really haven’t learned even a fraction of what you do.”

The expressions of mother and son stiffened. Father Yu threw his spoon into the soup tureen with a clanging echo.

Both were startled again, while the instigator’s expression remained unchanged as he swallowed the finely chewed vegetable leaves.

“A dog’s mouth can’t produce ivory!” Father Yu grabbed a cigar from the side and took a vicious puff. “It’s one thing for you to talk nonsense to your family, but what were you saying in front of Young Master Qi yesterday? Are you disrespecting me or disrespecting Minister Qi?!”

Yu Jiaze imperceptibly moved his seat farther away, not wanting that foul stench to come near him.

“What did I do? I merely expressed my concern.”

“Don’t play dumb! I turn a blind eye to you playing with women, but if you get carried away, you’ll have to deal with the consequences yourself!”

Father Yu slammed the table and stood up, then turned and went upstairs.

The woman hurried to follow. Yu Chenyang’s mouth was still stuffed with rice as he mumbled and ran into his room.

Yu Jiaze looked at the table full of empty seats and the lavish dishes that seemed prepared for dozens of people, then shouted toward the servants’ quarters: “Auntie Liu!”

Auntie Liu, her back already hunched, quickly came over and asked in a flat tone: “Young Master, what do you need?”

“Bring me some pepper from the kitchen.”

“Young Master, there is no pepper.”

“What about other spicy seasonings?”

“There are none.”

Yu Jiaze nodded: “Good. The old man eats very healthily.”

He stood up and had just taken two steps toward the door when he suddenly turned back, expressionlessly picked up a nearby dish, and smashed it into the center of the table.

The shattered porcelain powder fell like belated pepper, scattering abundantly into the other dishes.

Only then did he leave with a slightly calmer expression.

After leaving the Yu family residence, Yu Jiaze drove aimlessly onto the deserted national highway.

He casually opened his phone’s contact list, scrolled up and down for a long time, and when his cold gaze was about to turn off the screen, his finger suddenly paused, stopping beside Wu Man’s name.

After hesitating for just one second, he pressed down.

The phone rang two or three times before connecting. The person on the other end answered with a hello, mixed in with noisy background sounds.

He said four words concisely.

“I want to see you.”

Wu Man was startled and said hesitantly, considering the tone in his words: “You are…”

“I’m going home now. You come over too.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Wu Man raised her volume. “I can’t get there that quickly.”

“How long?”

“At the fastest… four hours.”

Yu Jiaze was silent for a moment.

“You’re not in Beijing?”

“Mm, I just landed in Shanghai. I have a commercial to shoot.”

His finger lightly twisted on the steering wheel as he smiled: “In that case, forget it.”

He gave a light sneer and hung up decisively, turning the car in another direction.

Driving toward his “place of amusement.”

Night Desires Club, a certain high-level VIP private room.

Young Master Qi pushed open the door. Inside, a circle of people was already seated—all those from the pool party. Among them, Yu Jiaze sat in the main seat, raising his eyes to look at him.

He leaned nonchalantly against the doorframe, showing no intention of taking a seat.

“How rare. Young Master Yu actually organized a gathering himself. I’m truly honored to be invited.”

Yu Jiaze naturally picked up two glasses of Tequila, took the initiative to stand and walk to the door, handing one glass to Young Master Qi.

Young Master Qi raised his eyebrows.

“The little thing disrupted your birthday party last time, and I’ve felt guilty about it ever since.” Yu Jiaze tilted his head back and drained the Tequila in his hand in one gulp, his Adam’s apple rolling up and down in the hazy light. “This time I’m hosting. Let loose and have fun. Tonight we only care about two words—pleasure. How about it?”

Young Master Qi took the drink and laughed heartily: “Those are your words. We only care about pleasure.” He also straightforwardly poured the small glass down his throat, licked his lips, hooked his arm around Yu Jiaze’s shoulder, and only then took a seat.

Yu Jiaze glanced at the hand draped over him, his brow imperceptibly knitting half an inch. Yet the corner of his mouth smiled even more happily.

After three rounds of drinks, entertainment was inevitable.

The private room door was pushed open again. This time, many people entered—a whole row of beauties, plus a few androgynous boys.

Yu Jiaze raised his glass toward Young Master Qi: “All freshly arrived, top-quality goods, clean too. Pick whoever you want.”

Young Master Qi raised an eyebrow: “You want me to go first? But what if I pick the one you fancy? That would be so awkward.”

Yu Jiaze shrugged: “What matters most is that you like them.”

“So you don’t mind if I take away someone you like?”

“Of course not.”

Only then did Young Master Qi stand up enthusiastically and slowly walk past the beauties lined up in a row.

“This one… or this one?”

He stopped maliciously in front of one person, acting as if he would choose her, making the other person show an expression of anticipation and delight, then left without mercy.

Yu Jiaze just weighed the dice in his hand. He didn’t care at all who he finally chose. Just like how a person wouldn’t be interested in which dish someone else ordered.

Young Master Qi finished toying with the entire circle and sat back in his seat empty-handed, shaking his head: “What should we do, Young Master Yu? These people just don’t have enough flavor.”

“Really?” Yu Jiaze roughly swept his gaze around and pointed at the second woman on the left. “This one is much prettier than the one you had by the pool last time. Don’t like her?”

The person who was pointed out immediately stepped forward, as if Yu Jiaze were her commanding officer and she was a soldier eager to be trained by him.

Young Master Qi pondered: “Compared to that one, she’s certainly an improvement, but I’ve been thinking about that other person in the pool that day—she’s still far superior.”

Yu Jiaze’s hand weighing the dice paused: “Oh?”

Young Master Qi drew closer, lowering his voice teasingly: “Didn’t Young Master Yu just say you don’t mind me taking someone you like? In that case, give me that person from last time.”

Yu Jiaze’s tone was inscrutable: “I remember you said she wasn’t much. Has Young Master Qi’s taste also suddenly changed drastically?”

“It’s not that I particularly like her. Mainly, she caused me to lose face at the pool. I just want to see what kind of ability she has. Otherwise, one glass of Tequila won’t extinguish this anger.”

Hearing this, Yu Jiaze leaned back against the soft sofa: “I don’t care either way. I just fear you’ll be disappointed. That little thing can be very boring.”

“Whether she’s boring or not, you only know after you’ve played with her.”

“But if you take mine, won’t my side be empty?”

Young Master Qi laughed heartily.

“Didn’t you just point out one you said was pretty?” He turned his head and jerked his chin at the woman who had stepped forward. “What are you standing there for? So obtuse. Didn’t you hear Young Master Yu say he’s taken a fancy to you?”

The woman was somewhat caught in a dilemma but still boldly walked to Yu Jiaze’s side, poured him a drink, and carefully offered it.

Yu Jiaze stared at Young Master Qi. The two men’s gazes confronted each other for a few seconds in the sensual lighting: “Young Master Qi has considered everything quite thoroughly, even selecting a backup for me. How could I have any reason not to let the person go, right?”

He handed the dice in his hand to Young Master Qi and instead took the drink the woman had passed over.

Seeing him take a light sip, the woman couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Yu Jiaze’s hand wrapped around her waist and gave a light squeeze as he smiled: “Afraid of me?”

Young Master Qi tossed the dice aside, satisfied: “Don’t be afraid. Our Young Master Yu is most tender and protective toward beauties.”

The woman obediently nodded, softened her body, and leaned into Yu Jiaze’s embrace.

The group carried on until midnight. Some people wanted to continue to another venue. Yu Jiaze yawned, and under Young Master Qi’s meaningful glance, the woman said softly: “Young Master Yu, you’re tired. There are rooms upstairs. Would you like me to help you up to rest?”

“I’m not used to sleeping here.” Yu Jiaze lazily stood up and said to everyone: “I’ll head back first. You all take your time.”

The woman stood awkwardly and somewhat disappointedly in place. Before Yu Jiaze pushed open the private room door, he glanced at her, somewhat impatiently: “Still not leaving?”

The woman was stunned, then immediately followed with a bright expression.

She followed him into the back seat of Yu Jiaze’s car, anxious yet full of joy, observing that after getting in the car he closed his eyes without any expression, very different from how he’d been in the private room just now.

He seemed extremely weary.

The woman didn’t quite understand. Weren’t these young masters here to indulge in pleasure? Opening any bottle of wine casually cost tens of thousands, but in their eyes, these wines weren’t even as good as toilet cleaner.

If she could have such lavish capital, she really wouldn’t know how to write the word “bored.”

But never mind all that—right now was her golden opportunity.

She moved closer, her exposed skin brushing against Yu Jiaze’s dress pants, speaking softly: “Young Master Yu, I’ve learned massage, very professional. Would you like me to help you relax on the road?”

Yu Jiaze seemed interested as he asked: “What kind of massage?”

The woman’s face immediately flushed red as she pinched Yu Jiaze’s shoulder and pressed: “Many kinds. Don’t be anxious.”

He just smiled without speaking, never opening his eyes from beginning to end, letting the woman’s soft fingers roam back and forth between his shoulder and neck.

The car drove into the villa. The woman’s gaze flickered as she saw another woman standing at the main gate.

It was just an instant of crossing paths, but she did indeed have a brief moment of arrested breathing upon first seeing the other person. Although the other woman’s attire was much plainer than hers—wearing rough sportswear and a baseball cap, dragging a suitcase, her face showing the puffiness of travel.

Despite already being in such a disheveled state, she still felt herself undoubtedly outmatched.

The assistant driving spoke up weakly at this moment: “President Yu… Miss Wu Man is here, at the gate.”

Yu Jiaze suddenly opened his eyes and looked over through the car window.

The woman beside him had been silently observing him all along. His gaze was like someone who had waited a long time in the polar night, suddenly seeing the first glimmer of changing dawn.

It seemed to be a kind of invigoration, an expression of anticipation yet finding it incredible.

She couldn’t quite grasp the relationship between Yu Jiaze and this Miss Wu Man, but her subconscious made her feel a sense of crisis, especially this look that made her sense… if someone was going to be eliminated tonight, that person would inevitably be herself.

She had to take a gamble.

So she climbed onto Yu Jiaze’s arm and whispered softly in his ear: “Young Master Yu, I don’t mind a threesome.”

Yu Jiaze glanced at the hand clinging to him without comment, yet made the woman involuntarily withdraw her hand.

“Xiao Zhou, just drive her back directly afterward.”

Yu Jiaze straightened the wrinkles the woman had messed up and pushed open the door to get out.

He got out of the car and walked on foot to Wu Man.

She seemed to have just fallen asleep standing by the roadside. Only when she heard the sound of the car starting did she wake up, rubbing the corner of her eye and saying: “You’re back.”

Yu Jiaze glanced at the travel pillow still wrapped around her waist and said with amusement: “Like you’re wearing a little backpack.”

Only then did she remember the waist pillow was still hanging there and awkwardly took it off: “I rushed to get here…”

“Didn’t I say forget it?”

Wu Man answered without hesitation: “To you it may be forgotten, but to me it doesn’t count.”

Yu Jiaze was silent for a long while, the corners of his mouth lifting in a very shallow arc.

The woman in the car not far away, watching this scene, finally realized that Yu Jiaze’s unrestrained laughter all evening at the club had been fake.

None of it matched the happiness of this smile, so shallow it went unnoticed.

However, this smile vanished in a flash.

Yu Jiaze’s expression remained unruffled as he said: “This little bird of mine can really fly. You actually flew over.”

“Oh right!” Wu Man opened her suitcase right there on the spot. Clothes and cosmetics scattered out in disarray, even a copy of “An Actor’s Self-Cultivation” fell out. She awkwardly stuffed it back in and pulled out a bulging plastic bag, handing it to Yu Jiaze.

“This is…”

“Pistachios!”

“…”

Yu Jiaze looked incredulously at the bag in his hand, then at Wu Man, saying incredulously: “Do you think… eating pistachios will make you happy?”

“Mainly I didn’t know what you like to eat, so I bought this because it has good symbolic meaning.” Wu Man touched her nose. “So what would make you happy to eat?”

“Chili peppers.”

“…Chili peppers?!” Hearing this, her face turned pale as she muttered quietly, “What’s so good about chili peppers?”

“Because spiciness represents the sensation of pain.” He said lightly, “And pain is most unforgettable.”

Wu Man frowned: “Then shouldn’t you avoid chili peppers even more?”

“You don’t understand.” Yu Jiaze raised his head to look at the deep black night. “People live by pain.”

There’s never truly a time to be happy.

Wu Man felt she couldn’t argue with him. She opened the plastic bag, reached in to shell a pistachio, brought it to Yu Jiaze’s lips, and said as if coaxing a child: “Try eating one.”

Yu Jiaze stared at the pistachio without moving. Just as Wu Man was about to awkwardly withdraw her hand, he opened his mouth and bit the nut, his tongue lightly sweeping across her fingertip.

The next second, she was lifted into the air, falling into the man’s embrace.

He pressed against her nose, still chewing the nut, then transferred it into her mouth, saying indistinctly: “Then how about we be happy together?”

At the other end, Young Master Qi, who had been smugly waiting for Wu Man to come to his door, indeed waited for someone.

Except it was the woman who had been led away by Yu Jiaze and then returned.

He’s playing me?!

Enraged, he immediately called Yu Jiaze, but was hung up on. Even more furious, he called one after another.

Yu Jiaze had walked from the bed to the balcony at this moment, looking at the constantly vibrating phone, his face smiling very pleasantly.

He continued to hang up without care, opened his contact list, intending to set his number to do not disturb. When his finger slid to Wu Man’s name, he subconsciously glanced toward the room. She was curled up in a ball, nestled in his nest.

He quietly watched this scene, lowered his head, and changed Wu Man’s name in the notes to “Little Bird.”

“xxxx year x month x day

Although pistachios can’t compare to chili peppers, they’re barely acceptable to eat.”