Don’t Be a Kept Man

Chapter 32: I Can Only Live If You Live

The car has been vibrating for a very long time, shaking all the way, as if they were leaving the city. The road was all mud, and driving through would kick up all the dust and ash, which was enough to make people cough until their eyes were red and itchy.

They seemed to be almost there as the crook who was keeping an eye on them suddenly uttered out an “ack” sound and used his knees to lift himself up. He then covered their eyes with some kind of black cloth and loudly yelled out, 

“Motherfucker, my butt’s numb from all the sitting. What the heck were you two men doing driving up in the middle of the night to the mountains? You aren’t fucking gay prostitutes, are you?!”

They had followed Huo Ming Chen since the very beginning at the highway. They planned to act then, but then they saw another person inside the car. To avoid any unforeseen events, they withheld going forward with their plan and kept waiting from a distance away. Who could have thought that the two of them were still together even this late at night? The contractor was urging them, and seeing that the sky was dark, they gritted their teeth and decided to kidnap them both.

Now they have two hostages when they only received money for kidnapping one person. It was like an assassin killing someone without receiving any money; a man would feel like they had been cheated out of a profit for doing a deed for nothing

Lu Qi thought inside his heart that he was glad that they didn’t go too crazy, otherwise they would have been seen. As if Huo Ming Chen could tell what he was thinking, he lazily sighed and said,

“Don’t think about it too much. That kind of thing is impossible.”

He and Lu Qi were not people who fooled around randomly. At best, they would talk their mouths off, but that was it. Besides, who would be bold enough to have sex in the wild? Not even worrying about the bugs, you’ve got to at least be worried of the bacteria and viruses.

Just as he finished talking, he was pushed by someone from behind. The crook yelled, 

“Why do you talk so much!”

He had been very bored during the entire truck ride. So when Huo Ming Chen and Lu Qi were talking, he didn’t hesitate to listen in on them from the beginning to the end of their conversation and because of that, he became very annoyed at their long conversations.

The two of them were brought to a place that seemed to be some sort of warehouse. The kidnappers did not take off their blindfolds, and after listening to the sound of a metal door being locked, they seemed to be surrounded by silence.

In the dark, humans will feel extremely unsafe, and this would especially include Lu Qi, the kind of sensitive person who overthinks. His eyebrows were furrowed the entire time, always feeling like the ball still had not dropped. He slowly moved backwards, taking one step at a time, wanting to lean against the wall. He stopped when he heard Huo Ming Chen’s voice echo around the room,

“Lu Qi, are you here?”

This place seemed very spacious, as Huo Ming Chen’s words echoed, but Lu Qi’s heart seemed to settle down for some reason.

“I’m here.”

“You stand there and don’t move. I’ll come find you.”

In this kind of situation, Huo Ming Chen was unexpectedly stable and steady, able to make anyone feel safe. In the darkness, he searched in a stable and purposeful manner, and within a matter of minutes, he could feel Lu Qi. Lu Qi was first shocked and then calmed down.

Huo Ming Chen said, “Lower your head, I’ll take your blindfold off.”

Lu Qi listened to him and lowered his head. Huo Ming Chen came closer and used his sense of touch to help him. A slightly cold nose stroked across his face, and in the middle of banging their heads accidentally, they kissed a few times and in the end Huo Ming Chen successfully used his teeth to bite the blindfold off.

A brightness shined in Lu Qi’s face, and with this, his vision became clearer. He squinted his eyes and lowered his head, copying Huo Ming Chen’s actions and taking off Huo Ming Chen’s blindfold. Then he took the time to take a look at their surroundings.

This was a very simple and small dirty warehouse. The ground was littered with dry grass and above them was a vent about the size of their hands. Nothing else was there, except for the door beside them that seemed to have been in need of maintenance for many years. It was full of rust, and as it could not close by itself, the door was locked with chains, but they could peep a little through the cracks to scope out the situation outside.

There were four thug-like figures sitting around a square table outside, playing cards and drinking alcohol. There were also peanuts in their hands, and you could occasionally hear faint boisterous laughter. Someone asked what they should do with the confined men, and the bald leader said, 

“Listen for news from the employer I guess. Even if you kill them, these two pieces of scrawny pale white meat are of no use.”

Upon hearing that, Lu Qi’s face paled, as if truly becoming that scrawny white meat they were referencing. Huo Ming Chen’s face was also not looking very good. If they were rushing to kidnap him today, this would no doubt be an attack on Huo Ming Cheng. And thinking about the innocent Lu Qi who has been dragged into this, thinking about the board meeting tomorrow, his face became leaden with weight.

Lu Qi liked playing mind games, but this was useless against the crooks outside. They have their own agenda, and he could not think of a way to trick them to let him go.

Huo Ming Chen leaned against the wall, and suddenly looked at him from the side. His expression has never been this serious, and after a moment, finally loosened his mouth to liven up the atmosphere, saying, 

“Hey, why is your face whiter than a piece of paper.”

That kind of feeling of waiting for your death was not a good feeling. Lu Qi also looked at him, pretending to be serious, said,

“Wait until I’m dead. My face would be even whiter then.”

Hearing this Huo Ming Chen ducked his head and smiled, jokingly saying, 

“Don’t worry. I won’t let you die.”

Lu Qi recalled back to his previous life, thinking, didn’t he die by Huo Ming Chen’s hands then? But he couldn’t open his mouth and so closed his eyes and tried one bit at a time, to calm down his thoughts that were in a mess, clouding his mind, and let his heart steady itself.

Huo Ming Chen seemed to be jostling around and Lu Qi could hear sounds of rustling, when Huo Ming Chen’s voice rang out in a casual tone, 

“How many of those people outside could you fight?”

Lu Qi was even more silent.

He could not fight even one.

He was more suited to playing with minds, not physically fighting. If he was able to, from his stingy and vengeful personality, how could he be pressed down on the ground and beaten up by that crazy person in university?

Seeing that he was not speaking up, Huo Ming Chen seemed to sigh. Lu Qi in a rare display, seemed a little pressured and distressed, hesitatingly saying,

 “I should…… be able to fight one.”

Huo Ming Chen did not save him any dignity, 

“I can see that you won’t be able to fight even one.” 

And then muttered, 

“You are only strong in bed after all.”

Lu Qi tried searching for any sharp objects around them, thinking that this was the first time he was angered into passiveness, 

“We are tied up here. There’s no meaning to be saying all this. Even if you could fight ten by yourself, you’re still bound with a useless fighter like me here.”

Huo Ming Chen leaned against the wall and lazily said, 

“Getting out of these ropes is not a problem. The difficult part is how to get out of here.”

Lu Qi thought about it and agreed with him as he took back his gaze, 

“It’s the first time I’ve been kidnapped. I don’t have much experience. This kind of situation, would your brother come save us?”

Huo Ming Chen blinked, 

“I’m afraid by the time we wait for him to arrive, we’ll both be dead.”

Lu Qi: “……”

It was close to dinner time and the kidnappers outside seemed to be moving around. One of them banged on the bowl of peanuts, stomach growling, 

“Shit, this place is not near anything. Can’t go out and buy something to eat even if you wanted to.”

The bald man said, 

“Finish this job, and you can eat whatever you want. You can pick your choice of abalone, bird’s nest, shark fins and all the women you could ever want.”

That specific crook seemed to be a little dumb, as he scratched his head saying, 

“Da-Ge1, I’m hungry. I don’t want abalone or bird’s nest. I want to eat rice.”

The bald man seemed to have a headache and could only facepalm and said, 

“San-Er, Biao-Zi2, you two drive the car into town. Bring something back to eat.”

The two called out by name seemed a bit unhappy, 

“Da-Ge, we are not hungry. Whoever is hungry should go buy it. Driving will take several hours. And also, we have to look after the two inside.”

The bald man who had a hooked dart tattooed on the left side of his face did not speak and mashed a handful of peanut shells. In a rough voice he yelled, 

“Da-Han does not recognize roads. If you let him go into town, he could drive the car straight into the police station. Also, if we plan to finish this job tomorrow, there will be too many people outside in the daytime. We are going to have to hide from the public eye for a while. Could it be that tomorrow we can’t even eat a meal?!”

He took a look at the door inside, 

“As for those two meal tickets, they’re tied up. Four people isn’t enough? What could they do?”

The two called San-Er and Biao-Zi could only stand up and ask everyone what they wanted to eat and then left with the car.

Huo Ming Chen listened to the entire conversation and once he heard the car starting up and leaving, his dark eyes surged with schemes and plans. He turned his head to look at Lu Qi, and soundlessly moved his lips, 

“There’s still four more outside.”

Lu Qi understood his meaning.

They have to think of a way to get out now since there are fewer people which meant that they have a higher chance of escape. Once those two come back, if they were to kill the two of them, then this is exactly what they call putting themselves up on the chopping block to be butchered.

But at most Huo Ming Chen could only fight two, and Lu Qi…… Lu Qi would have trouble with even one.

Huo Ming Chen moved, and from his sleeve dropped a lighter. This was something he had secretly hidden when he got out of the car. His fingers searched for a long time and finally found the button to press down. A blue flame lit up immediately and licked the rope on his wrist and skin.

A faint burning smell started to emit, and Huo Ming Chen scowled but said nothing. His forehead started to sweat furiously and after a hard tug, the rope fell onto the floor.

Seeing this, Lu Qi’s eyes brightened, 

“You have a lighter?”

Huo Ming Chen rotated his wrists that had stiffened up, and there were a few blisters from the fire that showed up on his skin. He walked towards Lu Qi who was behind him and undid the ropes on him, 

“How could a man not have a lighter?”

He seemed to have already concocted a plan. Perhaps this was due to the fact that he had a lot of experience from being kidnapped so often when he was young, just by virtue of his family background. Huo Ming Chen quietly commanded,

“After a while, I will gather the dry grass together and light it up, luring them in. I will fight three, you will fight one. Get that simple minded one, that Da-Han. He should be easy to subdue. You quickly run after. I heard some cars honking when we arrived, so there should be a highway close by……”

Before he even finished, Lu Qi grasped his elbow, scowling as he said the following words in a low and serious voice, 

“We go together.”

He said, 

“The two of us, we go together.”

Huo Ming Chen looked at him and didn’t speak. His chest heaved twice and his mouth popped a smile, saying something off topic, 

“Do you know what I wanted to say to you in the car just then?”

Lu Qi shook his head, “I don’t know, but I know that whatever we do, we have to do it with the plan that we will be alive. Everything is useless if we die.”

Huo Ming Chen lowered his eyes and smiled, menacingly saying, 

“Really. Then if we both make it out of here alive…… You and I, we go public. How’s that?”

He did not wait for Lu Qi to answer and continued, 

“I’m notifying you, not asking you. Your opinion does not matter. You will be willing if you are willing. You will be willing if you are not willing. Doesn’t matter if you lie, you have to give me a ‘yes’.”

How could there be someone so domineering in this world?

Lu Qi did not expect that this was what Huo Ming Chen wanted to say. He was a very practical person, only liking what was beneficial to him. He did not care for all those useless titles or standings. In his past life, he didn’t go public with this bastard Huo Ming Chen for five years.

Looking at Huo Ming Chen’s careless attitude except for the hidden nervousness in his eyes, Lu Qi realized something. He was stunned after Huo Ming Chen’s declaration and after coming back to his senses he was just about to say something. But then he remembered that they were still in the midst of danger and thought that there’s no point in fussing around with so many useless thoughts. He suppressed the million thoughts going through his mind.

Lu Qi contemplated it for a moment and then said,

“If you are not afraid to get beaten to death by your brother,”

“If you can win over all your family members,”

His eyes held a never before seen focus and paused before continuing,

“Then it doesn’t matter if I am with you as you gamble it all.”

And then finally said what Huo Ming Chen was waiting to hear,

“Yes.”

That word seemed to have touched something inside him and hearing that, Huo Ming Chen took a deep breath in and then forcefully hugged Lu Qi, with such a strong force that could almost break his bones. He said in a low voice, 

“Even if you are lying to me, I am still happy.”

Lu Qi rested his chin on top of Huo Ming Chen’s head, and lifted his arm, slowly smoothing his hand one stroke at a time down Huo Ming Chen’s back, eyes lingering with a deep emotion, 

“The four outside, we each take two.”

“Then we will have to die here,”

Huo Ming Chen laughed, and held onto Lu Qi’s head, holding him still and saying one word at a time slowly in his ear, 

“Lu Qi, you remember this now,”

“I can only live if you live. If you die, then I will die too.”

“I will only live if you run out of here.”

Lu Qi closed his eyes and did not move.

He was a bit arrogant, thinking that he was clever enough to see through people’s hearts, playing with them in his hands, believing he was the one in control. But up until today he finally discovered, he was actually this useless.

Lu Qi only knew that Huo Ming Chen would drag him to death together, but he did not know that Huo Ming Chen could pay with his own life to let him live. Life and death, there was nothing set in stone.

Huo Ming Chen had words to say to Lu Qi and Lu Qi also had something to say to Huo Ming Chen. He moved his lips, soundlessly spitting out three words,

“I am sorry……”

This phrase, it has been hidden inside his heart for two whole lifetimes.

The four criminals outside were just continuing to play cards in boredom. The beer cans on the table were already emptied and had been haphazardly thrown together. Da-Han’s nose twitched and he suddenly widened his eyes saying, 

“Does something smell like it’s burning?”

Hearing this, the bald man paused and the others started to sniff the air, looking all around,

“Yeah, I smell it too.”

“We didn’t burn anything though.”

From the crack under the metal door, smoke started to spill out. Seeing this, the bald man’s face changed and he slammed down his cards, ruthlessly giving them all a slap in the face.

“Useless dipshits! Your motherfucking grandma’s on fire! Fucking go and take a look already!”

Notes:
*1 Da-Ge: translates as to mean big brother, and in this case, is actually a title for the leader of the gang rather than Da being a surname.

*2 Biao-Zi: like “-er”, “zi” is a suffix to call someone younger than you but not as young as a child