Chapter Ninety-Eight: Night Tryst

The premiere of Police Story could be called a complete success, a night full of pleasant surprises. It wove a tangled, intricate plot together with action sequences, making for a film that was both highly entertaining and commercially savvy.

Several of the film’s long takes — the opening car crash into the shantytown, Chen Long climbing onto a bus with an umbrella, the scene where he takes an electric shock with his bare hands, and the climactic sequence at the end, shot in one extended take, in which Chen Long descends from the mall’s ceiling fixtures and crashes through the glass house below — drew gasp after gasp from the audience. Even the harshest critics had to praise Chen Long’s fearless performance.

Beyond his signature action, the comedy also added greatly to the film’s appeal. In particular, the cactus scene sent the entire theater into peals of laughter.

The continuous applause that followed the screening was the best reward for everyone involved, and it also gave them a glimpse of the box office numbers that would keep rising from the next day onward.

After fielding a number of questions and interviews from reporters, Yan Xu drove his own car, but he did not leave at once. Instead, he waited outside the rear entrance of the Maritime Building.

Unlike the blaze of lights in front of the building, the back door, tucked away in a narrow alley, had not even a single streetlamp. Only the faint moonlight lay over everything. If one did not come close and look carefully, it would be impossible to notice Yan Xu’s car parked there.

With a very soft sound, the small side door in the back slowly opened. In the darkness, a figure cautiously poked her head out, looking around warily. Beneath the moonlight, one could only make out that the figure was a woman.

Seeing her emerge, Yan Xu hurriedly flashed his headlights twice. Soon the woman trotted over, opened the car door, and slipped into the passenger seat.

“No one’s here. That scared me half to death.” Once she was inside, the cabin light came on, illuminating her face. Anyone who had just seen Police Story would have recognized her at a glance as one of the film’s leading actresses, Zhou Huimin.

“It’s been so long since we were alone like this. I’ve missed you so much.” Yan Xu leaned slightly toward her, taking her small hand in his and kissing her cheek.

Zhou Huimin’s career was on the rise, so their relationship could not be exposed. It could only exist secretly, in the shadows.

Since returning from Taiwan, both of them had been busy filming, each buried in their own work. Even when they met at the company, it was only in passing, with no chance for intimacy. This premiere of Police Story could have been a perfect opportunity for them, but with so many reporters around, every move had to be made carefully and in secret.

“Why don’t we just go public with our relationship?” Zhou Huimin nestled against Yan Xu’s chest. She was the sort of traditional woman who would sacrifice everything for the man she loved.

“What are you talking about?” Yan Xu lightly tapped her nose. At the moment, Zhou Huimin was positioned as a pure and innocent idol, and if their relationship were exposed, it would deal a heavy blow to that image. It would certainly affect her career, and right now Yan Xu’s Dragon Clan Company still needed her as its standard-bearer.

“You have your own career. It wouldn’t be fair to you, and the company still needs you too. Let’s wait until everything settles down.” Yan Xu kissed her hair. Once she had established herself firmly in both film and music, and built her own loyal fan base, then even if their relationship were revealed, it would not affect her too much.

“All right then.” Zhou Huimin had only said it casually herself. She knew she could not give up her career just yet.

“It’s just that both of us are so busy with work. It’s hard enough to see each other as it is, and having to hide like this is already upsetting enough. On top of that…” Zhou Huimin pouted.

“Once your new album is released, my next film should be out around the same time too. By then we’ll both have time. We can go to Europe together for a while. No one there knows us, so even if we don’t disguise ourselves, it won’t matter.” Yan Xu’s hand settled on her skirt, stroking her thigh through the thin fabric.

“How about coming to my place tonight?” As he touched her leg and breathed in the delicate fragrance drifting from her body, Yan Xu’s mouth went dry. Something within him began stirring restlessly. He kissed her cheek and whispered into her ear.

Zhou Huimin closed her eyes slightly, looking as though she was thoroughly enjoying his touch. Her chest rose and fell heavily, and her breathing had grown thick and uneven. Though they had not been intimate for some time, the passion of their last encounter was still vivid in her memory, and she found herself thinking of it from time to time.

But Yan Xu’s words made her eyes fly open.

“No. I promised my mother I’d go back early tonight.”

“Ah?” A flicker of disappointment crossed Yan Xu’s face, but he also knew that Zhou Huimin had been busy lately with filming and recording her album, and had not been able to spend much time with her mother. As the daughter of a dutiful family, her mother held a very important place in her heart.

“Do you really want it?” Zhou Huimin asked softly, seeing the disappointment on his face.

“What do you think?” Yan Xu did not answer directly. Instead, he took her small hand and placed it between his own legs, letting her feel the hot force and restless urgency there.

“Then… should I help you release it? Books… books say it isn’t good for a man to hold it in too long…” Her face was tinted with a shy blush. For Zhou Huimin to say something like that had already taken a great deal of courage.

“Hmm?” Looking at her timid, embarrassed expression, then at the stillness around them, Yan Xu realized that although he had lived two lives, he had never once indulged himself in a car. Such a chance, of course, he had no intention of wasting.

Though it was not quite the way he had imagined it, watching Zhou Huimin lean forward, her small hand moving with careful seriousness, still made Yan Xu feel as though he were floating on air.

“Come sit on top of me.”

At the sight of her flushed cheeks, Yan Xu gave her shoulder a light pat.

“Hm?” Zhou Huimin looked at him in confusion, not understanding what he meant. She did not realize how much of a temptation it was, to Yan Xu, that the thing in her hand was so close, her lovely face nearly pressed against his side.

Unable to resist such temptation, Yan Xu said nothing more. He pulled Zhou Huimin into his lap and sealed her soft red lips with his own.

Because the space inside the car was limited, they could not make large movements or explore too many variations. Their bodies were almost tightly pressed together. Zhou Huimin’s proud curves, her generous softness, her slender waist — all of it gave Yan Xu the most immediate and intimate sensation. And precisely because of that full, close contact, they felt a different kind of exhilaration.

His tongue teased her in sweet circles, drawing her own shy response into the warmth of their mouths. His kiss was so domineering, his suction so powerful, greedily devouring the sweet moisture that rose between their lips and tongues.