Flying Gulls Never LandCh9 - Not because he can’t, but because he won’t 

At 2:05pm on Wednesday afternoon, I called a taxi and reached the entrance of the Acelier Hotel. When I was about to head in, I reached for my phone and gave Sheng Min Ou a call.

He still did not pick up, and I didn’t know whether it was because his phone wasn’t by his side, or because he saw that the call was from me so he didn’t pick up. Ph0ma4

I wasn’t bothered by this, as I opened my text messages and selected a photo Yi Da Zhuang had sent me a few days ago. In the picture, Xiao Mo Yu and Fang Lei were in a car and were in the middle of a heated kiss. Although the lighting was dim, it was still unable to cover the passion evident in both their actions and mannerisms, and anyone who saw the photo would understand that their relationship was not one that was platonic.

Two minutes later, Sheng Min Ou’s name appeared on my phone screen, accompanied with a ringing sound that displayed an incoming call.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

“Now you want to talk to me?” I said, speaking first as I picked up the call.

“What do you want to do?” Sheng Min Ou’s breaths were rough and heavy, like he had just finished an intense workout. nyGKQP

“I’ll give you fifteen minutes to come to the Acelier Hotel in the city centre. Don’t be late.”

This time, I hung up the phone first.

Yi Da Zhuang probably used some of his connections, as he had already changed into the servers uniform and had taken his position, waiting in the hotel. No one had approached him or told him to get out, and after seeing that I was near the entrance seemingly not taking any action, he discreetly snuck out to meet me.

“Feng Ge, how come you’re not heading in?”

The uniform he bought appeared a bit big on him and it reminded me of a child secretly trying on an adult’s clothing that evidently did not fit, so it was quite entertaining to see.

“I’m waiting for someone.” I replied, keeping my eyes on the cars that rolled up to the hotel.

“Shit, you didn’t ask San Ge to bring a whole mob over did you?” Yi Da Zhuang asked nervously.

I looked at him stunned, “What kind of thought is that? Do you think we’re acting like gangsters today?” 5T2jvc

Yi Da Zhuang touched his nose and didn’t speak further as he waited with me in front of the entrance for a while. During then, a few of the guests at the hotels thought he was the doorman, and gave him the keys to their car as they assumed there was a valet parking service being offered. So as to not expose his identity, he went down each time to park the guests cars, albeit rather begrudgingly.

I watched as time passed second by second, and when I thought Sheng Min Ou wouldn’t be coming after all, his familiar silver sports car appeared in my vision.

Then I heard him slam the brakes, and the sports car stopped a hair’s width away from Yi Da Zhuang and myself.

Yi Da Zhuang jumped backwards, and was about to cuss when the door to the driver’s seat slowly opened, and Sheng Min Ou stepped out, buttoning up his suit in the process. FYUEah

From his height to his physique, Yi Da Zhuang was outclassed in each category. Yi Da Zhuang’s ‘fuck’ was therefore stuck in his throat and all that left him was a “f-” sound, with the remainder of it being held back reluctantly.

Sheng Min Ou walked towards me with purposeful strides, and lifted a hand very naturally to throw his car keys at Yi Da Zhuang.

“Hey, I’m not…” Yi Da Zhuang’s voice died out as he fumbled to catch the keys, trying to explain the situation when he suddenly stopped, “Why am I thinking that this good looking guy seems so familiar?”

He had conducted extensive investigations, despite most of the digging being centred around Xiao Mo Yu. However, it wouldn’t be strange if he had also seen one or two photos of Sheng Min Ou in the process. yNdion

I did the introductions, “This is my brother.”

Yi Da Zhuang was shocked for two seconds, then suddenly pieced everything together, “So you were waiting for your older brother, hello Da Ge, I’m Feng Ge’s buddy, Monkey…” As he said that he reached his hand out, wanting to shake Sheng Min Ou’s hand.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

There was no way Sheng Min Ou would touch him. He didn’t move at all despite being prompted to, and just remained stoic as always, glancing at the pair of outstretched hands, with no intention at all to respond to the invitation.

If this was a manhua, then in the panel I could already see his thoughts being written in plain sight, ‘why is a monkey trying to shake hands with me.’  sLAIGc

In an instant, the atmosphere became quite awkward, and I coughed slightly before nudging Yi Da Zhuang with my elbow and told him to quickly park the car.

“Then you both can wait for me upstairs, I’ll be there shortly. Remember, wait for me to arrive first before you do anything!” After he had said everything, he passed me the card to access the elevators before quickly getting in the car and driving away.

“Let’s go.”

I waved the card in my hand, signalling for Sheng Min Ou to follow along, when he suddenly reached out and gripped my wrist. uUw3m0

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

“Tell me what the room number is, I’ll head up alone.”

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His darkened pupils were cold and heavy, as he tightened his grip to show that he was not planning to enter any sort of negotiations with me.

Although it was winter so I wore more layers of clothing, I still could not withstand him applying so much force to my wrist.

“Let’s go, if we take any longer they’ll have already returned the room.” I swapped the elevator card to my other hand and forcefully broke out of his restraining hold, turning to walk further in the hotel.

The whole way, I didn’t turn to look back. Though internally, I did worry about what would happen if Sheng Min Ou really didn’t follow along, because then that would royally be the screw up of the century. However, when I went into the lifts and turned to see that he had been following behind me the whole time, all my worries dissipated like smoke dispersing into air. UPFm6I

In the end, he had no way to deal with me.

The lifts ascended quickly, towards the highest level of the hotel.

Sheng Min Ou leaned to the other side of the lift, standing diagonally opposite me. Between me and him, it was like there was a clear line, where even if we were forced into an uncompromisingly small space, he would still find the furthest point away from me and stay there, protecting the existence of the line.

“I want to first collect my interest…” I said, eyeing the levels and seeing the elevator approaching the top floor. I suddenly stepped forward towards Sheng Min Ou, and passed the ‘line’. ehwvpS

He snapped his head up with both his hands in his pocket, but when he saw me get close one hand came out and with a furrowed brow he moved to block my approaching body.

I ignored his hand pressed against me and instead reached my fingers out to clasp onto the back of his hand, then swiftly leaned forward to press a heavy kiss on the edges of his mouth.

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This time I really did something extremely daring, and Sheng Min Ou’s eyes widened instantly. The hand that was placed in front of my body suddenly gripped tighter, and with my hand wrapped around his, I could feel each joint protruding and each bone stiffening.

After I finished being shameless, the elevator doors popped open with a ‘ding’ as we reached the highest level of the hotel. dKyIsE

I jumped out of the elevator in a flash, nimbly avoiding the punch that was directed my way.

Perhaps he was beyond angered by me, as the elevator doors closed and then opened again, and after a few moments Sheng Min Ou finally left the lifts, his expression clearly pissed off.

He had just copped a huge offense to him so he must be in a foul mood right now. I didn’t do anything to aggravate him further and kept far away from him.

“Let’s wait here for a bit.” Dxkvr4

Sheng Min Ou’s gaze flicked over to me in response, but didn’t make any other movements.

I clicked my tongue silently, realising that I had already become quite used to his contempt towards me.

After waiting in front of the lifts for a few minutes, Yi Da Zhuang appeared with a bottle of champagne and quickly came to us.

“Where did you find the champagne?” I asked, curious, taking the bottle from him and realising that it was actually empty. lsbdet

Yi Da Zhuang politely returned the car keys back to Sheng Min Ou and then replied to my question, “It’s a prop we’ll use for later, otherwise it’ll be really hard to crack open the door. I have experience, trust me.”

He confidently led the way and walked in front of us, then paused in front of a door and pressed his ear against it to listen to the commotions inside. Then he straightened up and tidied his clothes, prepared his pose, and told me and Sheng Min Ou to stand back where the peephole could not see. After everything was ready, he pressed the door bell.

“Who is it?” Fang Lei’s voice sounded from inside.

“Sir, our hotel has specifically prepared this bottle of exquisite champagne for you to thank your patronage and support.” Yi Da Zhuang said, his face forming a fake smile. r734yu

It was silent inside for a while, then footsteps sounds were heard, “Just a minute.”

A moment later, there was the sound of the door unlocking, and the room slowly opened up to us.

Fang Lei’s handsome and eye catching face appeared in front of us, wearing only a bath robe, and his exposed chest was filled with scratch marks. On his neck was a hickey that was beginning to darken in colour.

He had just opened the door when Yi Da Zhuang took this as his cue to barge inside. tR3Y0c

I held my phone up high following behind him, capturing every second of Fang Lei’s shocked and terrified expression.

“You, you all… Who are you?” Fang Lei blocked our paths and raised his head to see me. In that moment aside from his fear and puzzlement was a hint of disbelief, as if he couldn’t believe he was seeing me here.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

What can I say, sometimes when your paths are fated to cross, even if you try to avoid it you can’t.

I disliked how he was in the way, so I sent him crashing to the floor with a kick to his gut. The space was then cleared so we successfully entered. ZSkoHw

The hotel room was a complete mess, on the floor, on the living room sofa, on the king bed in the bedroom, there were clothes left everywhere like a typhoon had swept through the place. It wasn’t hard to imagine what kind of passionate acts happened here mere hours ago.

Sheng Min Ou closed the door and once he turned around he saw Fang Lei sitting paralysed on the floor, his legs parted, and very unabashedly flashing his parts to him. Sheng Min Ou frowned instantly, expressing his distaste.

“If you don’t want to keep it then keep your legs spread.” His voice was quiet, but he was deadly serious.

Fang Lei didn’t understand what he meant, but still shook in response, his expression perplexed. Jc9WtB

I kicked his shoulder from behind and reminded him, “Put your legs together, stand up, and talk.”

At this moment, the door from the bathroom opened and accompanied by the steam, Xiao Mo Yu emerged with her hair wrapped, wearing only a bath robe.

“Honey, tonight lets go eat…”

Her gaze flickered across the room and froze on Sheng Min Ou, then she saw me holding up my phone recording her, and she quickly understood what had happened. In an instant an ugly expression formed on her features. yl1kNr

She took a cigarette from the box left lying on the bedside table and held it inbetween her fingers as she lit it up. She moved to sit on the bed and with her legs crossed, she spoke to Sheng Min Ou, “What do you want to do?”

Sheng Min Ou walked towards her with big strides, and as he passed me he used his palm to press down on my phone. I understood what he meant as I stopped the recording and did not continue filming.

“I’ll tell Mr Xiao later that it was because our personalities weren’t compatible…” The rest of the words died out as the bedroom door closed and sealed all traces of their conversation.

In the living room, I quietly leaned against the wall and spaced out, and Yi Da Zhuang stood in front of the windows taking in the view of the city from the very top floor. Intermittently, he would sigh and make a remark of how unfair the world was when you were rich. Fang Lei stood at a loss in the centre of the room, and after seeing how we ignored his presence, he picked up a few pieces of his clothing, wanting to make a run for it. i2sQ9B

“Where are you going?” I asked.

He gave me an embarrassed smile, “Ge, let’s not do this, after all we know each other, please just let me off the hook this one time.”

I didn’t get to reply to him when Yi Da Zhuang heard what he said and started laughing. “Ge? You’re calling him older brother, you know who that person inside is to him?”

He pointed at me, then pointed at the rooms door. P8Ez3j

Fang Lei shook his head in confusion.

“My older brother,” After a pause, I added on, “Only by law.”

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Fang Lei looked as if he was faced with imminent death and understanding crept in as he realised that this time he really was done for.

“What a coincidence…” He said to me, as he quietly tried to take a peek at the direction of the hotel rooms exit. dkPECO

I could see that he was still waiting for a chance to escape, so I warned him, “The last person who tried to run away in front of me now has a tomb, and the reeds in front of it are probably past two metres tall.”

Fang Lei looked at me, and then looked at Yi Da Zhuang, then he obediently placed the clothes he grabbed onto the floor.

“Okay, fine, I am despicable, I deserve everything that’s coming my way, I admit it.” He said, slumping down onto the sofa in disappointment.

The conversation between Sheng Min Ou and Xiao Mo Yu did not continue on for too long. In ten minutes, that door was open again. Nj8tvP

Sheng Min Ou walked out and just as he passed the door the enraged voice of Xiao Mo Yu came blasting from the darkened bedroom.

“Sheng Min Ou, you’re just an abnormal freak. Don’t ever think there will be a woman in this world who could tolerate you!” In a fit of anger she threw a piece of clothing at Sheng Min Ou, however she did not have enough strength and halfway through the garment fell to the floor. “Just you wait until you die alone!”

“Remember what you agreed to just then,” Sheng Min Ou was undisturbed by her actions at all, and still remained rather courteous, “Then I won’t be disturbing you both any longer, I’ll be taking my leave first.”

I saw him moving towards the door to leave and quickly followed behind his footsteps, not forgetting to say bye to Xiao Mo Yu before I left. AJr1tH

“No need to worry about the tape. Once you follow through with what you promised my brother, I’ll naturally delete it. See ya, Miss Xiao.”

Yi Da Zhuang was completely at a loss witnessing the scene which unfolded in front of him, as he anticipated a storm from what was brewing but only got to see a gentle display of rain. He caught up with us and asked me, “Is this it? We’re not going to beat the crap out of that cheating scum of a man and aim for his dick with slingshots or stuff chillis in his ass?”

It seemed like his previous clients were quite creative with their ideas…

I saw that we were getting left behind by Sheng Min Ou, so I patted his shoulders and ran forward towards him whilst saying my thanks to Yi Da Zhuang. pUkX9K

“No need for any of that, thanks a lot, next time I’ll treat you to a meal.”

I saw that the elevator doors were about to close so I squeezed through, turning my body sideways, and caught up to Sheng Min Ou.

“DId you finish your discussions?”

He ignored me. eSrj2T

“How are you going to thank me?” I stared at his lips, which were perfectly proportioned and thought back to how it felt to press mine on his. “I don’t want a lot, just do what I did before, except you will be the one to initiate.”

What I said clearly angered him, as he remembered how he had been harassed earlier.

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He grabbed my collar and forcefully shoved me against the elevator wall.

In the lifts, three of the walls were embed with floor to ceiling windows that were champagne gold. In each of these mirrors, his fierce and malicious expressions stared back at me, yet my reflection remained a smiling face, one that perhaps looked like I was just asking to be hit. ENteus

“You think I didn’t know what kind of woman she was?” He said whilst slowly approaching me, “So what if you’ve chased her away? Lu Feng, I’d rather marry a whore than get in bed with you.”

His breathing could clearly be felt against the side of my face, and once he came close to me, the scent of leather and ebony was so intrusive it was hard to ignore… and even closer I could detect a hint of musk as well.

It was as if his scent was the manifestation of the strong wave of hormones he exuded, and after breathing it in for a long time, one would go weak with intoxication.

“Do you understand?” He asked, as he gripped forcefully at my cheeks and tightened his hold on me, his fingers clenching harder. zMWo89

A burst of excruciating pain shot through my system and faced with his eyes that were barely suppressing the anger inside, I unconsciously nodded.

“Understood…”

He knew of Xiao Mo Yu’s promiscuous lifestyle but he chose to pretend as if he did not know. If it were anyone else, perhaps they turned a blind eye out of love for the other person, but for him, it’s probably because he didn’t care about Xiao Mo Yu at all.

He only needed a ‘fiancee’, so he could appear to be someone who had flesh and blood, someone who knew of the difference between ice cold and warmth, someone who was a normal person. SCEjYX

If needed, he obviously could also pretend to be someone who was head over heels in love, sweetly using the words ‘baby’, and ‘honey’ every day.

He didn’t do it, not because he can’t, but because he won’t, just like how he never bothered to cover up his disgust for me. To put it more bluntly, both myself and Xiao Mo Yu were people who were not worth his time for him to put on a mask for us and to deceive us with his mannerisms. I probably even placed behind Xiao Mo Yu.

Perhaps from the very beginning he didn’t want to make a big deal out of the issue with Xiao Mo Yu, but due to my involvement, things had spiralled out of control. Xiao Mo Yu and him had now completely severed any chances of continuing on the facade that they were a loving couple, so he was forced to let go of his ‘cover’. His anger at this loss was evident in the force he exerted when he choked me.

The elevator stopped and Sheng Min Ou let go of me, viewing the shocked appearances of the people outside as if they were nothing to him. He walked out of the elevator, his expression stoic as ever, not being impacted by others at the slightest. 1lYzup

I rubbed my cheeks that were now both sore and aching, weaving through the crowd which automatically parted for us and followed him out of the hotel.

“Fine, you can just pay me back at a later date!” I yelled at his departing figure, risking it all for that one line. I didn’t even see what his reaction was or if he reacted, as I tucked both hands in my pocket and ran off as fast as I could.