Ti Shen

Ten minutes later.

A red sports car came to a stop in front of him. The passenger’s side window rolled down. The driver was a man with a head of conspicuous red hair. Even at night, he was wearing sunglasses and playing cool. A cigarette hung from his mouth, half burnt. When he saw that the person waiting for him was Ran Feng Ge, he smiled, revealing a set of pearly-white teeth. As he flung his head back, the ashes from his cigarette followed and softly floated down. His excited voice was like his character, showy and impertinent. “You madman, it’s really you! Get in!”

That Cheng Xi Ran, lively as always. Ran Feng Ge’s mouth twitched in a smile. He opened the car door and quickly got in.

“It’s already so late. What do you need me for?”

“I’ll tell you once we reach Tian Lan.” Ran Feng Ge turned on the car radio. The station that came on was broadcasting news on Jing Qiu Han. He frowned, and turned the knob. He stopped on a station that was currently playing music. He then leaned back against the seat, letting himself slowly relax.

“Weren’t you in the United States? When did you get back?” Cheng Xi Ran changed the topic.

“I came back a month ago. I took up a new assignment recently,” Ran Feng Ge replied. “What about you? You haven’t taken up any new jobs these past two years?”

“Me? Forget about it, I’m not as desperate as you. I have the profits from Tian Lan, so I can pass my days leisurely. I don’t even need to mention to you how good a life I’m leading right now.”

Cheng Xi Ran paused, and couldn’t resist complaining, “You little punk, are you that devoid of affection? You come back for a month and you only contact me now? Honestly, if you hadn’t encountered some sort of difficult problem, would you have not contacted me at all?”

“Yup, that’s exactly how I planned it.” Ran Feng Ge truthfully responded.

“Shit! What do you take me for?” Cheng Xi Ran glared daggers at the other man.

Ran Feng Ge, unperturbed, withstood the glare, a smile still on his lips. “Xi Ran, I just didn’t want you to get caught up in this. You finally managed to lead a leisurely life. If I start bothering you now, wouldn’t I be betraying you?”

“Stop it with your disgusting act!” Cheng Xi Ran gritted his teeth. “If you didn’t want to bother me, why waste your time with me now?”

“I wanted a drink, so I came to find you,” Ran Feng Ge jested.

“Tch. If you only wanted a drink, then it would be easy. A City is a big place; you could go anywhere you want and get a drink!”

“But for a free drink, I can only come to you.” Ran Feng Ge continued smiling. When Cheng Xi Ran saw the other’s smile, he felt goose bumps ripple over his body.

“Alright, alright. I’ll admit I’m scared, you smiling tiger.” Cheng Xi Ran then changed the topic. “Have you already finished your assignment in the United States?”

“Of course! Did you think I was the same as you? I actually put effort into my assignments, unlike you who only tries at the very start. Besides, I wouldn’t take on a job just to abandon it as I pleased. That’s not my style as the golden body double,” Ran Feng Ge said in a narcissistic tone. But as he was speaking, he lowered his eyes. An imperceptible expression flashed across them, somewhat self-deprecating, and somewhat apprehensive.

Although Cheng Xi Ran was insensitive and thick-skinned, he clearly caught the fleeting look of worry in the other man’s eyes. It couldn’t be that…the assignment had left Ran Feng Ge with some worries, could it?

At that time, Cheng Xi Ran had tried to persuade his friend to reject the job. If Ran Feng Ge accepted, he would have to act as the young master of a ridiculously large family. He would have to live in strife and turmoil every day. He would be subjected to fights for the inheritance, quarrels between brothers, kidnapping, and even assassination attempts.

Being a body double certainly carried high risks. This line of work required various high-level skills, which included acting, appearance changing, voice changing, medical expertise, fighting ability, and an enormous amount of diverse knowledge. It was very rare for someone to be proficient in all of these skills. Even if one was able to master only two or three of the skills, one would be doing quite well in the business. One could just rest easy and rake in the money.

Ran Feng Ge was obviously an exception to the rule. Before he started in the business, he had put himself through demonic training. He had meticulously and painstakingly studied every skill and quality a body double should possess.

People took notice of Ran Feng Ge’s awe-inspiring title of “the golden body double”, but few saw the inhuman effort he had secretly made to attain that title.

When everyone was concerned about how high you could climb, was there anyone, anyone at all, who cared about whether you were tired of the climb?

Feng Ge… You… Are you really not tired?

Learn to be like me. When it’s appropriate, you should stop and rest. Find someone to love, someone who also loves you back. It’s better than passing your days in loneliness…

“Hey, what are you thinking? If you don’t turn now, we’ll never reach Tian Lan!” Ran Feng Ge raised his voice and reminded the clearly distracted Cheng Xi Ran.

“Ah!” Cheng Xi Ran let out a surprised cry, and quickly spun the steering wheel. The sound of tires rubbing asphalt was ear-grating, but they had successfully turned onto the right road.

“Every time I sit in your car, I have to fear for my life! Can’t you be more careful? If you don’t take your life seriously, how can you take Xiao Mi seriously? Next time, think about her, and then you can cure your bad habit of getting so distracted!” Ran Feng Ge irritably scolded the other.

Cheng Xi Ran laughed mockingly at the other’s words, but concentrated on his driving.

Tian Lan was a bar Cheng Xi Ran owned. It was located downtown. While the bar wasn’t flourishing with business, it also wasn’t ridden with debt. The amount of customers they got varied each night. Cheng Xi Ran wasn’t demanding; he made a steady income and he wasn’t suffering from losses.

Plus, he had savings from when he worked as a body double. He could live the rest of his life in comfort.

In contrast, Ran Feng Ge didn’t want to become an unemployed vagrant so early in his life. As long as he was alive, he wanted to work for his happiness. When he became old, he could look back on the things he had accomplished. If all he did was eat and drink, then his life would be dull and vapid. It would a waste of a life!

“Ah! Isn’t this Xiao Ge I see here? You’ve already come back?” An outspoken female voice came from behind Ran Feng Ge. He smiled as he turned his head to look at the short-haired woman standing behind the bar counter. She was wearing a silver, sleeveless jacket studded with shiny sequins, shorts, and a pair of long, black boots. Ran Feng Ge raised his hand in greeting, “Mi Le, long time no see.”