When Shi Yi came downstairs, he noticed that Ying Ming still had a pile of rafting gear in his car.

“So, you were out rafting?”

Glancing at the back seat, Shi Yi chuckled. “Next time, remember to invite me.”

“Sure,” Ying Ming said casually.

Leaning back against the car seat, his hair still damp, he ruffled it a bit and tilted his head toward Shi Yi. “Tell me what you’re thinking. What’s the plan?”

Leaning back against the car seat, his hair still wet, he ruffled it a bit and tilted his head toward Shi Yi. “Tell me what you’re thinking. What’s the plan?”

“There are seven people in total. After dinner, they want to go somewhere different. They’re young and want something new.”

Hearing this, Ying Ming laughed. “From the way you’re talking, it seems like the only options are illegal gambling, drugs, or prostitution. What do you mean by ‘something new’?”

“I’m just explaining the general idea. You get the point.”

Shi Yi wasn’t new to nightlife. He had been to many similar events, usually because someone had dragged him along or he had gone out of boredom. He never really enjoyed them, and he didn’t know much about the specifics. He had tried most of it and found it dull after a while.

He’d rather spend a weekend racing cars than waste time getting drunk and acting wild in a bar. This sort of lifestyle didn’t suit him.

After spending some time with Ying Ming, he had figured out Shi Yi’s personality and preferences. So, he just smiled knowingly. “Alright, leave it to me. I’ll handle it.”

“Good thing you’re around. Thanks!”

“No problem.”

Ying Ming had to go home and change, so they didn’t talk much before parting ways. They agreed to meet later at Ying Ming’s place, from where they’d head out to pick someone up at the airport.

Shi Yi had never been to Ying Ming’s house, but according to Ying Ming, it was easy to find.

“Turn right at the street corner, go all the way to the end, then turn right again. The biggest warehouse there is my place.”

Shi Yi blinked, surprised. “You live in a warehouse?”

“I’m claustrophobic. Can’t sleep in small spaces,” Ying Ming had said with a wry smirk. Whether he was serious or joking was anyone’s guess.

One thing Shi Yi quickly realized after getting to know Ying Ming was that it was impossible to tell when the guy was being serious.

As an actor, Ying Ming could lie without batting an eye or changing his expression. He could spin any tale with seamless logic and deliver multiple versions of the same story without missing a beat.

Shi Yi once saw him casually messing with a group of wealthy second-generation kids, feeding them juicy gossip and outrageous rumors from the entertainment industry.

By the time Ying Ming had finished dismantling each of the rumored couples, the group was completely convinced.

Later, when Shi Yi asked him about it privately, Ying Ming raised his eyebrows and asked, “You really believed that?

When pressed further, he’d always give the same three-word answer:

“Guess for yourself!”

He could be quite annoying at times.

But at least when he was with Shi Yi, he never pulled those stunts. Maybe that was because Shi Yi wasn’t the type to be nosy. If he noticed Ying Ming avoiding a question and throwing out a random answer, Shi Yi would usually just let it go without pressing.

Take the thing about claustrophobia, for example. Ying Ming said it, he heard it, and that was the end of it.

—

Ying Ming was telling the truth. His place was easy to find.

Shi Yi didn’t even need to make a single phone call and managed to drive right up to the front door.

From the outside, it didn’t look like much of a home. The walls were covered in chaotic, non-mainstream graffiti, random splashes of color with no clear design or meaning. It was just an ordinary brick warehouse with a large hanging padlock on the front gate.

He knocked.

The loud clang echoed ominously, startling him a little.

When Ying Ming opened the “door,” Shi Yi burst out laughing. Turned out, the big front gate was just for show. The real entrance was hidden in the wall, which Ying Ming pushed open like it was a secret passage in some spy movie.

Shi Yi raised his eyebrows. “Not bad. This place is pretty interesting.”

“Living alone gives me plenty of room to mess around,” Ying Ming said with a grin.

He gestured for Shi Yi to sit on the couch and headed to the fridge. “What do you want to drink? Soda or beer?”

“Soda. I still have to drive later.”

Grabbing a random bottle of some kind of tea, Ying Ming tossed it to Shi Yi. “Make yourself at home. I’m gonna take a shower.”

Shi Yi blinked in surprise. “You’ve been home this whole time and still haven’t showered?”

“I did. Then I gave the cat a bath, and it dumped a whole bottle of body wash on me. So now I need a second round.”

By the time Ying Ming finished speaking, he was already in the bathroom.

The warehouse was indeed quite spacious. The entire first floor was an open living area filled with all kinds of things like a treadmill, a punching bag hanging from the ceiling, and even a large trampoline. There were abstract oil paintings on the walls, and a line of cabinets stretched along one side, filled with a mishmash of items arranged without any particular order. The bedrooms seemed to be upstairs, and from what Shi Yi could see, there were quite a few doors up there.

The whole place felt very… Ying Ming.

There were lots of things around, but it wasn’t messy. It had a strong sense of space and was brimming with personality.

Shi Yi got up and wandered around for a bit. When he stopped in front of the display cabinet, he noticed a few trophies tucked away in a corner at the bottom.

Though he didn’t recognize the specific designs, he could still read the labels.

Some were for awards like Best Newcomer or Best Actor. Some of the plaques were partially covered by other things, so he couldn’t tell exactly what they were.

Ying Ming didn’t seem to care much about them and casually tossed them aside.

When Ying Ming came out, he saw Shi Yi looking at the cabinet. Shi Yi smiled and asked, “You just dump your awards in there like that?”

“They’re in the past. No point polishing them every day.”

Rubbing his still-damp hair, Ying Ming glanced lazily at the trophies before walking past them. “Besides, when I won those, I didn’t even know what ‘Best Actor’ really meant.”

He had become famous too young, and the memories from that time had grown vague.

Even as an award-winning actor, he had felt like a kid at an adults’ table, like he’d just been handed a piece of candy for fun. He knew he was famous, but he hadn’t really grasped what that fame represented.

Looking back, that time in his life felt like nothing but chaos.

Ying Ming shook his head with a wry smile and deftly changed the subject. “There’s an event at 798 Art District tonight that might be interesting. Want to check it out? You can get a taste of the artsy life.”

“Sure,” Shi Yi nodded. “I haven’t been there much, actually.”

“I’ll make some calls and set it up.”

Ying Ming was efficient when it came to getting things done. After three quick calls, he had the evening plans all sorted out. With meals and accommodations already taken care of by Shi Yi, Ying Ming’s role as the local guide wasn’t too demanding. Just a light gig for the night.

That night, the group kept going until well past three in the morning.

By the time they dropped everyone off at the hotel, both the ones who had been tagging along and those wandering around were utterly exhausted.

When Ying Ming stepped out of the hotel lobby, he lit a cigarette and exhaled a long breath. “Those guys have impressive energy. If it were me, I’d have passed out ages ago.”

Singing, dancing, shouting. They were young, after all. Full of energy.

What surprised him a bit was that there were women in the group too. They didn’t seem like clients, though. It looked more like they were just friends hanging out together. When Shi Yi was looking after them, he didn’t treat them like customers either. It felt more like he was dealing with old acquaintances. Ying Ming didn’t ask much from start to finish. Even learning their names came from Shi Yi introducing them one by one.

Shi Yi followed behind him and lit a cigarette as well. “Good thing I don’t have to entertain people like that too often. I couldn’t keep up.”

He was starting to wonder if he should push for higher pay for the admin and PR departments. All that hosting and entertaining was exhausting.

“The key is making sure they have fun.”

“They seemed pretty hyped up. If I hadn’t kept convincing them, they wouldn’t have come back at all.”

Even at two in the morning, they still wanted to hit the club. Shi Yi had to admit that those people had stamina.

Hearing that, Ying Ming smiled. With the cigarette between his lips, his smile deepened, making the curve of his lips look particularly striking. Shi Yi tilted his head to glance at him. “What’s with that weird smile? Just say what’s on your mind.”

“Nothing. I just think you’re pretty interesting.”

Ying Ming raised his eyebrows. “Has anyone ever told you that you sound like an elder when you talk?”

There was a subtle undertone in Shi Yi’s voice, as though he occasionally found the people around him too immature. It wasn’t obvious, but you could sense it.

He took a couple of puffs from his cigarette, his other hand casually stuffed in his pocket. “If I told you I usually get up at six to practice tai chi, would you believe me?”

He said it so seriously.

Ying Ming nodded with a smile. “I’d believe you.”

Even if Shi Yi claimed he enjoyed wandering around early in the morning with a birdcage in hand, watching people play Chinese chess, he’d believe that too.

Compared to the other rich second-generation kids and military brats he had dealt with, Shi Yi was definitely something of an oddball.

Maybe that was why they got along so well.

A lot of people thought Ying Ming was a bit of an oddball.

But then, everyone does their own thing. If you meet someone you click with, you make a friend. If not, you’re just another face in the crowd.

Either way, nobody bothers anybody.

Ying Ming chuckled and gestured for Shi Yi to follow him to the car. “You drank a lot tonight. I’ll drive.”

“It’s so late already. By the time I get home and back, it’ll be more trouble than it’s worth. How about you drop me off at the office instead?”

He had a meeting in the morning.

With Ou Yang away, most things required his personal attention.

Ying Ming glanced at his phone and realized it really was getting tight on time. After thinking for a moment, he suggested, “Why don’t you stay at my place tonight? It’s close to both here and your office.”

Shi Yi’s office was in the east, but his house was in the west.

The daily commute alone was pretty rough.

Especially when you factored in traffic jams.

Ying Ming’s place, on the other hand, was roughly in the middle, leaning slightly toward the east, making it equally convenient to get anywhere from there.

Shi Yi didn’t even hesitate before nodding. He got into the passenger seat, casually extinguished his cigarette, and tossed it into the trash can by the hotel entrance. “Alright, let’s go.”

Ying Ming’s house had guest rooms.
Quite a few of them.

“When I first bought this place, the plan was to open a bar with some buddies. We had everything set up, all VIP rooms. But later, because of other stuff, the bar never opened. I figured the space was nice, so I moved in myself. There wasn’t much I could do about all the rooms, so I just kept them as guest rooms.”

As Ying Ming explained, he smiled. “My study and bedroom are at the far end on the right. The rest of the rooms are for guests.”

“You could turn your place into some kind of base. It’s big enough, and there’s plenty of space.” Shi Yi chuckled. “Just save me a room.”

Ying Ming agreed. “Go ahead and pick one. Whichever room you like, I’ll put a lock on it for you.”

In the end, though, Shi Yi ended up sleeping on the sofa.

He didn’t go upstairs.

Mainly because he didn’t feel like bothering. The sofa looked pretty comfortable anyway.

Ying Ming wasn’t the type to fuss over things. Since Shi Yi wanted to sleep on the sofa, he didn’t stop him. He brought him a light blanket and said, “I sleep in, so just close the door behind you when you leave. It locks automatically.”

“Got it. Don’t worry about me.”

Neither of them were the kind to overthink things. Once everything was settled, Ying Ming went back to his room.

Shi Yi lay on the sofa, unable to fall asleep right away. He gazed up at the warehouse-style windows near the ceiling, where the moonlight streamed in, casting a soft glow around the room.

Ying Ming definitely knew how to enjoy life.

Compared to this place, Shi Yi’s apartment felt utterly lifeless.