On Zhou Zishu's palm, Wen Kexing wrote, stroke by clear stroke, As long as your affection for me is as mine for you, I will not let it be in vain.[21]

Zhou Zishu looked at him in silence for a very long time. Gently, his hand curled closed, and gently, he held Wen Kexing’s finger in his palm. Yet, it was only a brief touch; in the next instant, their hands parted. He lowered his eyes, avoiding Wen Kexing’s gaze once more, and sighed almost imperceptibly.

At this moment, within the room, a man said in a low and satisfied voice, “That’s enough, you may leave.” Thereafter, there came the sound of the door closing, and Zhou Zishu took the chance to rise into the air, as agile as a sparrow. Landing soundlessly on the roof, he pried a tile loose with light movements to produce a narrow gap, and peered in.

Wen Kexing looked at his own fingers, as though the warmth of that person’s palm was still on them. But the night breeze was too cold; with a gentle waft of the wind, it dissipated without a trace. In that moment, he could not put words to what he was feeling, and could only--like he was mocking himself--smile bitterly.

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The author has something to say:

It’s snowing tomorrow，o(>_<)o ~~

Too angsty too angsty too angsty....

Chapter 57: The Gambler

Zhou Zishu thought that his own movements were very light, but the man in the room seemed to have already noticed him a while ago; he raised his head so brazenly, and happened to meet his gaze head on.

Taken aback, Zhou Zishu paused, only to see the man smile at him. It would thus have been impolite of Zhou Zishu to be reticent, so he flipped off the roof, knocked on the window lightly, and announced, “We guests have arrived uninvited. May the master of this house pardon us.”

The window was pushed open from within. Inside the room, a man in white inner robes stood, holding a bowl of tea. His gaze roamed over Zhou Zishu’s face, and swept over Wen Kexing once. He smiled, then asked in a soft voice, “If these two gentlemen had wanted to watch as well, you could knock on the door and enter. Why the stealthiness?”

His voice was almost insubstantial, especially gentle and soft, as though he feared startling something if he spoke loudly. He was of refined and courteous appearance--with monolids, and a nose that was fleshy at the tip but narrow at the wings[22], he did look very much like a decent person on the surface. Based on his features alone, one really could not tell that he was in fact that Poisonous Scorpion chief who was lacking in eight lifetimes' worth of morals.