Outside The Law Chapter 4

The talks of a transport line with country A carried on steadily. In the past two months, Luo Yu successfully closed several business deals. Ruan Zheng and his Zhen Ting became quiet once more.

One day, Luo Yu asked Xing Licheng about it, so Xing Licheng started an investigation. This time, they finally got some results.　

Ruan Zheng had appeared in Laos three months ago. There had been an informant for the Ping City police present. He took a picture with a view of Ruan Zheng's back; Ruan Zheng had dyed his hair silvery-white. His body was covered by the back of the chair, so the only thing one could tell from the photo was that he was very pale.

This picture pa.s.sed through various hands before finally ending up with the Ping City police. The next day, Luo Yu walked in to find it lying on his desk.　

Luo Yu had stayed up late with Su Jiawen last night. Even now his mind was filled with the incomprehensible feeling Su Jiawen gave him in bed; it was always an itch in his heart. Luo Yu was glad that he was the one who had run into Su Jiawen and brought him home. Otherwise, someone as pure and soft as Su Jiawen would end up in a morgue sooner rather than later working at a place like White Nest.

Upon seeing the picture on the table and listening to Xing Licheng describe how the photo came to be, Luo Yu picked it up to examine closely. He asked Xing Licheng, "How can you confirm it's Ruan Zheng?"

"This person," Xing Licheng pointed at the man standing next to the male with white hair, "Is Zhen Ting's Jiang Qi. The undercover police agent heard Jiang Qi call him Ah Zheng."

"There's no picture of his face?" Luo Yu furrowed his brows. What was he supposed to be able to tell from a back.

Xing Licheng shook his head. "The agent said that if it weren't for them lowering their guard outside of the country and Jiang Qi calling Ruan Zheng by name, he wouldn't have thought this person was Ruan Zheng. He didn't pay attention to his appearance at first. When he realized, he only had time to sneak a picture of his back before being escorted out."

Luo Yu gazed at the picture. In it, Jiang Qi's posture was truly respectful. He pondered a bit, then asked, "Laos. Ruan Zheng wants to touch drugs?"　

Luo Yu and Ruan Zheng both had never dealt with drugs, but illegal substances could often be found in the clubs under He Yonggui's name.　

Before Xing Licheng could answer, Luo Yu rejected his own theory. "Not necessarily."

He put the photo off to the side and ordered Xing Licheng, "Get someone to keep a close eye on He Yonggui and Zhen Ting. It seems to me that someone is too greedy and the snake wants to swallow the elephant."

Xing Licheng nodded. Luo Yu released him to go work on what he needed to, then signed all the doc.u.ments needing signatures. Luo Yu asked Lu Yi, who was standing beside him, if he had any special schedules planned for tonight.　

Lu Yi had been whipped last time by Elder Song. Now, he was extra careful in his work. He looked at the planner again before saying, "There's a charity gala tonight, organized by Hai Sheng's CEO Lin."

Luo Yu had recently acquired a fresh new thing at home, so stopped his frequent visits to these parties. He looked at the invitation and suddenly thought of how Su Jiawen had only been to sea once in all the time Luo Yu had kept him locked up at home. He thought Su Jiawen was quite pitiful, so ordered, "Make a trip home for me and take Su Jiawen shopping for a new set of clothes. Get him cleaned up; I'm taking him with me to the gala tonight."

Lu Yi had seen Su Jiawen a couple of times at Luo Yu's house; they had even chatted a few times. Upon hearing Luo Yu tell him to go pick up that boy, he remembered how Su Jiawen often kept his head down when talking to him. Something in his heart twitched.　

Luo Yu didn't hear a response from Lu Yi. He looked up at him. Lu Yi finally reacted, lowly saying yes.　

When Lu Yi arrived at Luo Yu's house, Su Jiawen was in the middle of giving Abel a bath. He wore a T-shirt and shorts in the heated room, nozzle in his hand as he chased Abel.

The housekeeper brought Lu Yi into the room. Through the gla.s.s, he saw Su Jiawen fiercely chasing the Canary Mastiff. He didn't think and pushed open the door to walk in. Abel was agitated from being splashed with water by Su Jiawen, and as soon as he saw a stranger, he paused before ferociously howling. He charged forward to bite Lu Yi's arm. 　

Lu Yi was nimble on his feet. He took a quick step sideways to avoid Abel, but the Canary Mastiff was faster. Upon seeing that he had missed the first time, Abel crouched down the second he landed, launching himself at Lu Yi's ankle so fast that Lu Yi didn't even see him clearly.　　

In the midst of this chaos, Su Jiawen calmly called out, "Abel."

He wasn't loud, but the three humans and one dog in the room all heard him clearly. Su Jiawen shut off the water; Lu Yi and the housekeeper didn't make a sound. Abel froze, legs straight and unmoving. It was quiet enough to hear the sound of a needle dropping on the floor.

"Abel." Su Jiawen gestured at the dog, so Abel ran over to him. "Let's get clean, okay?"

Su Jiawen bargained with Abel and squeezed out some pet shampoo into the palm of his hand. His white T-shirt was wet, skin slightly showing through. The ends of his hair were damp too. Normally, this would be the picture of innocence, but for some reason, Lu Yi felt that the scene seemed somewhat demonic.

The housekeeper beside him seemed to think this way too. His expression was severe as he stood there, motionless.　

"Mr. Lu, please wait a moment." Su Jiawen was in the middle of lathering Abel. He didn't even lift his gaze as he spoke, "Let me finish washing Abel."

Lu Yi forcefully lifted the corners of his lips, then walked out.　

After Su Jiawen finished bathing Abel, he gave the housekeeper the task of drying him. He went upstairs to shower too, then came back downstairs, clean.

Lu Yi explained why he was there. Su Jiawen followed him out in antic.i.p.ation, eyes curved into crescents. "What will the charity gala be like?"

Lu Yi had driven there himself. Su Jiawen sat in the pa.s.senger seat. He relayed how the gala was going to go to Su Jiawen, including the dress code. Su Jiawen listened patiently, treating him with the same politeness that he treated Luo Yu.　

Lu Yi became a bit full of himself. When he was purchasing the suit for Su Jiawen, he almost swiped his own card.　　

Su Jiawen had spent quite a bit of time washing the dog. They also managed to hit evening traffic hour, so Lu Yi was unable to get Su Jiawen to the hotel in time for dinner. He frightfully called Luo Yu; as he waited for the other to pick up, Su Jiawen poked his shoulder and pointed at himself.

In the moment that Luo Yu answered the call, the phone had already been transferred from Lu Yi's hand into Su Jiawen's.　　

"Mr. Luo," Su Jiawen obediently greeted the other, then explained the situation, "We're stuck in traffic, so might not make it on time."

Luo Yu said something. Su Jiawen glanced at Lu Yi and admitted his own mistake first. "No, it's because I took too long bathing Abel this afternoon."

He softened his voice and pleaded with Luo Yu for a while before Luo Yu's tone finally became better. Su Jiawen hung up and told Lu Yi, "Mr. Luo says it wouldn't be good to go in during mealtime. He said to wait until after dinner finishes and before the auction starts. He'll come and get me."

Luo Yu put his phone away and took a sip of his wine, expression dark. He had never showed up to one of these events alone before. The circular table he was sitting at was filled with esteemed guests, and their companions were all exquisite. Only he and the second-in-charge at Zhen Ting, who was sitting across from him, stared at each other. Neither of them were accompanied.

At a formal event, Zheng Ting and Huan An normally wouldn't be arranged to sit at the same table, but this time, the event organizer had messed up the seating situation. Jiang Qi had ended up at Luo Yu's table. Immediately, the atmosphere became fairly awkward.　

After a couple rounds of alcohol, everyone relaxed. As they all made toasts, a lady Jiang Qi had previously met a few times asked half sincerely and half in jest, "CEO Jiang, your Mr. Ruan is quite hard to invite. When will he show his face?"

Jiang Qi clinked gla.s.ses with the lady and said, "Ah Zheng is busy being in a relationship these days."

He was of large build, around the same size as Xing Licheng. When he was expressionless, he appeared quite fierce. He spoke slowly but surely, not extreme enough to cause panic.　

"In a relationship?" The lady hadn't thought that gangsters would be like mortals and want to date too. She was immediately stunned. "With which young lady?"

Jiang Qi smiled but didn't say anything. The lady knew she had overstepped her bounds too, so became silent.

"I would like to see Ruan Zheng too." Luo Yu lifted his gla.s.s towards Jiang Qi, across the round table. "There are quite a few things I'd like to ask him."

Luo Yu was being polite, but also testing the waters. He originally didn't expect Jiang Qi to respond, but Jiang Qi finished the wine in his gla.s.s and said, "You'll get the chance. We still have plenty of time."

After dinner, Su Jiawen arrived at the hotel. Luo Yu personally greeted him. Su Jiawen wore a white suit, the pant legs clinging to his body attractively. Luo Yu leaned in and inquired intimately, "Did you eat dinner?"

"Lu Yi took me to eat," Su Jiawen said.

The hotel lobby was lavishly magnificent. Two bodyguards stood outside the elevator. Upon seeing Luo Yu approach, they pressed the up arrow for him.　

"What did you eat?" Luo Yu guided him into the elevator. The gala was on the fourth floor, but the auction hall was on the fifth floor. Luo Yu simply chose 5, then pressed Su Jiawen against the wall and caressed his newly cut hair. The hairdresser had shaved the sides of his hair so they were fuzzy. It felt nice. "Who cut your hair?"

"Normal Cantonese cuisine. Someone called Ah Paul, Lu Yi found him." Su Jiawen answered his questions one by one.

The elevator arrived. Luo Yu maintained a slight distance from him and led him out.　

The lighting in the auction hall was dim. There weren't many people, and everyone was gathered in small groups chatting. They saw Luo Yu walk in, so stood up and greeted him. Luo Yu nodded his head at each of them in response.　

Su Jiawen was a bit nervous. He wanted to stick closer to Luo Yu but didn't dare to. Luo Yu's spot was in the second row; he took Su Jiawen over to sit down. He said, "Tell me if you want anything later."

Su Jiawen nodded as he leaned against him wordlessly.　

Luo Yu knew what he was like, so didn't force him to become a social b.u.t.terfly. He picked up the auction pamphlet to look at, discussing with Su Jiawen as he went.　

The quality of the items being auctioned off tonight were pretty good. Luo Yu had his eye on two or three things, and was just telling Su Jiawen a watch suited him, when the person next to him sat down. Luo Yu turned his head to look. It was Jiang Qi.　　

"Mr. Luo." Jiang Qi politely nodded at him. No one could tell that Zhen Ting and Huan An were close to war.

Luo Yu smiled at him too.

"This one's very pretty." Su Jiawen was focused on looking through the pamphlet. After Luo Yu finished his greeting, he pointed at a silver flower vase and softly told Luo Yu, "It matches the dinner table at home."

Luo Yu leaned in to look. It really was the same style as the dinner table, so they started discussing the decorations at home.　

Soon after, the charity auction began. The first items were jewelry, which Su Jiawen and Luo Yu both were uninterested in. Su Jiawen glued himself to Luo Yu's ear and was guessing what price each article would go for.　

Luo Yu rarely spoke during auctions, but listening to Su Jiawen's silly chit-chat, he felt quite amused. Thus, he placatingly discussed with him.　　

The second to last item was the flower vase Su Jiawen had liked. Luo Yu let other bidders raise their paddles first, waiting for the price to settle. When the auctioneer hit his hammer the second time, he finally held up his paddle.　　

As soon as he made a bid, Jiang Qi also raised his paddle.　

Luo Yu furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Jiang Qi. He held up his paddle again and added ten thousand to the bid.　

Su Jiawen heard the price the auctioneer called out and was horrified. He tugged on Luo Yu's sleeve and asked, "So expensive? Then let's not get it?"

Who knew that Jiang Qi raised his paddle once more. Su Jiawen held onto Luo Yu's hand. "Mr. Luo, stop bidding. There are plenty of vases in that style at antique stores everywhere."

Luo Yu ignored him, shrugging his hand off impatiently. He crossed one leg over the other and continued raising his paddle, until Jiang Qi ultimately made an insane bid. Luo Yu finally threw his paddle to the side and told Jiang Qi, "I admit my defeat."

Su Jiawen looked at Luo Yu, slightly frightened, then at Jiang Qi. He didn't say anything after.

With Luo Yu and Jiang Qi's mini fight, the last item was auctioned off fairly quickly. After the event ended, the lights in the room became brighter.　　

It was still early. Luo Yu was just about to take Su Jiawen outside when a wealthy merchant called his name. He seemed to have business to discuss with Luo Yu.　

Luo Yu had met the wealthy merchant a couple of times before. Upon seeing the serious expression on his face, Luo Yu let go of Su Jiawen's hand.　　

"Lu Yi, take Jiawen around," Luo Yu ordered Lu Yi. Then, he took Xing Licheng and made his way to the wealthy merchant's room.

Lu Yi had been to this hotel before. He took Su Jiawen to the fifth floor's balcony.

The evening wind was chilly, slightly tousling the thin hairs on Su Jiawen's forehead. His skin was smooth and pale, his eyelashes long and thick. When he looked into another's eyes, it made the other think that even the cold wind was sweet and the night view was romantic.　

"It's already January," Su Jiawen said sorrowfully. "I haven't even finished my thesis."

Lu Yi had been the one to go to Ping University and apply for Su Jiawen's leave of absence. He had seen his transcript before; Su Jiawen's grades were exceptional, and he was well liked by his advisor. Lu Yi hesitated, then said, "I still have your department head's phone number. If there's anything you want to know, I can help you ask."

Su Jiawen was thankful at first after hearing this, but then remembered Luo Yu's temper. He was a bit worried, so looked at the balcony door then nervously asked Lu Yi, "Won't Mr. Luo be unhappy if he finds out?"

Lu Yi thought about it and said, "Probably not."

Su Jiawen nodded. "Then I'll think about it."

As the two spoke, someone opened the gla.s.s sliding door leading to the balcony. It was Jiang Qi. He seemed to be looking for someone, but when he saw Su Jiawen, he paused and started making his way over to them. There was a box in his hands.　

Lu Yi watched as Jiang Qi came closer and closer. He stepped in front of Su Jiawen, tense. Su Jiawen lifted a hand and patted Lu Yi's arm, telling him that everything was okay.　

He slid past Lu Yi and walked out, asking Jiang Qi, "Are you looking for me?"

"You don't remember me?" Jiang Qi inquired.

"Can I talk to him in private?" Jiang Qi turned to ask Lu Yi.

Of course Lu Yi wouldn't allow that. It was already the most he could do to let Jiang Qi speak with Su Jiawen.

"Why are you always with Luo Yu?" Jiang Qi questioned. His att.i.tude towards Su Jiawen was exceptionally good. Unlike how he was when meeting Luo Yu and his friends, he spoke with respect and gentle inquiry.

Su Jiawen didn't know how to explain either. Lu Yi answered for him, "Mr. Jiang cares about too many things."

Jiang Qi glanced at Lu Yi. He was of large build, bigger than Lu Yi by a whole circle. Upon hearing Lu Yi's scornful comments, he didn't get angry. Instead, he calmly held out the box to Su Jiawen. "For you."

Su Jiawen took it and opened it. It was the vase he had bid on for an insane price.　

"Is Luo Yu good to you?" Jiang Qi looked at Su Jiawen carefully.

Su Jiawen handed the box back to Jiang Qi, but Jiang Qi refused to take it. Lu Yi forcefully grabbed it and returned it to him.　　

Jiang Qi didn't get annoyed. He held onto the box and said, "I bid on it for you. I heard you say you liked it."

"Thank you, but that's not necessary," Su Jiawen politely refused. "It's worth too much."

"It's actually not worth that much, but Luo Yu's bidding made it expensive." Jiang Qi smiled. "If you won't take it, I'll keep it for you for now."

Then he left.

"You know him?" Lu Yi asked Su Jiawen. He observed Su Jiawen's expression and felt that Su Jiawen probably forgot who he was.

As expected, Su Jiawen shook his head, bewildered. "No."

At this time, Xing Licheng's call came in. He asked Lu Yi where he had taken Su Jiawen; Luo Yu had finished his business.　

Lu Yi hurriedly guided Su Jiawen back inside.

Luo Yu stood with Xing Licheng in the hotel lobby. He waited for Su Jiawen to run over, then asked him, "Where'd you go?"

"To the balcony." Su Jiawen fixed his hair. He was slightly panting. Luo Yu made to walk out and he followed.

In the car, Luo Yu closed his eyes to rest. Su Jiawen sat there for a bit, only to hear Luo Yu say, "Next time I'll buy you a better vase."

Su Jiawen was dazed before realizing that Luo Yu was talking to him. He turned to look at Luo Yu; his eyes were still shut. Thus, he explained, "You don't need to."

"Why not?" Luo Yu finally opened his eyes and looked at Su Jiawen.

Su Jiawen had no answer. In his opinion, the vase was just a decoration that he could live without. If the opportunity arose, he would buy one. If not, they could get something else to liven up the dining table.　

But Luo Yu didn't force a response from him. He had other things on his mind. As soon as they got home, he went to the study to make a long phone call. By the time he returned to the bedroom, Su Jiawen was already asleep.　　

Su Jiawen was right in the middle of the bed. Luo Yu pushed him roughly and Su Jiawen obediently rolled to the edge of the bed. Luo Yu saw how careful he was even when asleep and couldn't help but laugh.

The wealthy merchant had found him today because he had run out of options. He had his eye on a piece of land in the suburbs of the capitol city and had paid a security deposit on it. The merchant had been waiting for the auction, but yesterday the deposit had been returned to him. He wanted to ask Luo Yu to find out what had gone wrong.

Luo Yu could help him or ignore him, but he was never stingy in this regard, so agreed to help.　
Shen Qiyin knew what was going on in the capitol better than he did, so he called the other. Shen Qiyin asked around for him and found that the piece of land had already been unofficially sold. The person it had been unofficially sold to was Jiang Qi.　

These years, Zhen Ting had mainly been focused overseas and in Ping City, never stepping inland. One reason was because the waters were too deep and it would be hard without connections. The second was because they sold firearms for quick money, which was an illegal business.　

Now that Jiang Qi was suddenly buying land in the capitol and seemed to have connections, Luo Yu was on high alert.　　

He had Shen Qiyin help him figure out who Jiang Qi's big benefactor was, then asked Xing Licheng to compile a report on all the investments Zhen Ting had publicly made this year.

Luo Yu didn't relax until he laid down beside Su Jiawen.　

Su Jiawen slept unguardedly, his cheeks slightly red. The lights at the head of the bed lit him from top down; the shadows of his eyelashes landed on the bridge of his nose and seemed warm and gentle.　

Su Jiawen was like home. Though the house was shaky and fragile, the fact that he could block him from anxiety and melancholy, albeit momentarily, was already incredible.

Luo Yu swung an arm around his waist and fell asleep.　

Lu Yi and Xing Licheng lived upstairs and downstairs of one another. Their house wasn't far away from Luo Yu's abode, so after Luo Yu said they were free to leave, Xing Licheng drove Lu Yi back too. He was a man of few words, and the same could also be said for Lu Yi. It was extremely quiet in the car.　

Suddenly, Xing Licheng asked Lu Yi, "Did you run into Jiang Qi on the balcony today? I saw him walking in that direction."

Lu Yi was surprised. "We did. He was looking for Su Jiawen."

"Why was he looking for Su Jiawen?" Xing Licheng's expression darkened as he inquired again.

"Jiang Qi had the vase he bid on and said he wanted to give it to Su Jiawen," Lu Yi said, "I think he knows Su Jiawen, but Su Jiawen doesn't know him."

Upon hearing this, Xing Licheng slightly furrowed his eyebrows. "How do you know Su Jiawen doesn't know him?"

"Su Jiawen seemed really surprised. It didn't look like acting." Lu Yi answered in what he thought was a trustworthy way.

The streetlight was red ahead. Xing Licheng stepped on the brake and stopped the car, then turned to look at Lu Yi. He said, "I see."

Lu Yi was silent for a moment before asking, "Xing-ge, Mr. Luo won't do anything to Su Jiawen, right?"

"Mind your own business." Xing Licheng didn't answer his question. The light turned green and he continued driving.

Finally a chapter with no NSFW content..