Xiaokai’s cheeks could easily set the bedsheets on fire if he dared touch his face to them. What was he supposed to say? If Bai Xue really did offer to take him away, he wasn’t sure if he would be strong enough to say no. He couldn’t turn into Liu Xingyu. Even if Liu Xingyu came back, he had still abandoned all of them. Finally, he admitted, “I think I’m more myself with you than I am with anyone else.” Beneath him, he could feel Bai Xue’s breath catch. “Anyway.” He forced himself to sit up, forced himself to part with the warmth that was Bai Xue. “I should shower.”

“Do you have anywhere to be after this?”

Liu Xiaokai froze.

“I’m sorry. That was overstepping my bounds. Go ahead.”

“I can’t make exceptions for anyone,” said Liu Xiaokai. He didn’t dare turn around to look at him. “If I made exceptions for one person, I would have to make exceptions for all of them.”

“I understand. I shouldn’t have asked.”

Don’t turn around, Liu Xiaokai.

He turned around. Leaned over, kissed Bai Xue, and then kissed him deeper. He said, “Let’s not wait as long between appointments next time.”

Bai Xue smiled at him. “I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said.

10

THE OTHER MEETINGS

THE MOST UNNERVING part of all of this was that Liu Xiaokai would have probably stayed if he didn’t have to meet Sun Yue afterward. Even as Liu Xiaokai never had to get any information from Bai Xue, she still wanted updates whenever they had appointments. Liu Xiaokai understood on some level that Bai Xue had pull in the List, but he must be old enough or insignificant enough that Sun Yue already had plenty of information on him if she ever wanted to bring him down.

Sun Yue was in her office and giving orders to the small collection of secretaries under her control. One of them was new, and looked reasonably petrified of the woman speaking to her. Sun Yue could be a terrifying woman when she wanted to be. Of course she was always powerful, but she was careful to let it show—to many, she was only Liu Baiyan’s beautiful, elegant wife. To others, she was most certainly a monster.

Liu Xiaokai stood just inside the doorway and waited for her to finish. When he was looking at her like this, he understood why so many people admired her. Why it was possible she got so many to follow her. Why people were willing to die for her. She knew exactly how to deal with people, knew exactly how to play them, knew exactly how to appear to them. When he was alone with her, she didn’t have so many faces. She was only Liu Xiaokai’s master.