Just as per usual, he took a shower first. He stripped off all his clothes, folded them neatly, put them into the small linen closet, and then he showered. By the time he was clean and had wrapped the robe around his body, he could hear Xu Runshen come in.

“It’s only your body. It’s only sex.”

He put on his prettiest smile. Opened the door.

THERE WAS A knock on the door before it opened. Weiran was settled on his bed, cross-legged, his computer settled in his lap and the papers Xiaokai had prepared for him spread out on the comforter around him. He was concerned at the knock for only a moment and had frozen at the sound of it, but when he saw the black sleeve of a high-end suit through the crack in the opened door, he relaxed.

“Liu Xiaokai?”

“Hey.” Xiaokai closed the door after himself. He looked…exhausted. Exhausted like he’d looked that night he and Xingyu had snuck into his office.

“Do you, uh. Need something? Xingyu left a while ago.”

“Xingyu was here again?” Xiaokai made his way over to the bed, tucking his hands into the pocket, and cocked his head as he looked over all the papers Weiran had out. “Why?”

“Just to check on me. I fell asleep pretty much right after you left and I think he was worried.”

“Well, next time he offers, tell him not to come. We don’t have an excuse set up for why he’d come here.”

“But you have an excuse?”

Xiaokai just sighed. “I just got out of an appointment.”

“Oh.” Gross, Weiran thought.

“Don’t look like that. I took a shower.”

“So why are you here? Did you miss me or something?”

“Mn…or something.” His face was usually unreadable, but today it was just…empty. Not unreadable but rather totally devoid of expression. Nothing to read. He just looked tired.

“Xiaokai?”

“You remember the proposal I made to you?”

“Proposal? Like the deal we made where you said you would help us bring down the List and I would stay out of the way?”

“No. The other one.”

“What other—” Realization dawned. Xiaokai’s devilish smile, his continuous propositions. “Yeah, unfortunately I do.”

“Well…it still stands.”

“Very funny, Xiaokai. Why are you really here?”

Xiaokai reached out and picked up one of the pieces of paper beside Weiran. He turned it over in his hands. “Like I said before, you can just pretend I’m Xingyu.”

Weiran scoffed.

“I’m being serious.”

“You really think I’m going to sleep with you just because you keep asking?”

“Hoping so.”