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The name "Rose" is not actually his real name. But ever since Xu Qi brought him back to the Xu family that year, he vowed to abandon his real name and follow his king under the new name—or rather, code name—"Rose".
His mother was a stowaway on the cargo ship "Golden Venture" in 1993. Because the people on shore couldn't reach her in small boats, the ship ran aground on a beach only a few hundred feet from the shore. Of the nearly 300 people on board, more than 200 were arrested and imprisoned, except for a dozen who drowned after jumping overboard. Logically, it would have been impossible for his mother, a frail woman with a three-year-old child, to escape the New York police. It wasn't until ten years later, when his mother told him this story on her deathbed, that he learned a man who had been traveling with them had drawn away the pursuers, allowing them to escape and eventually reach Chinatown in New York. His mother repeatedly told him that if he ever met this man again, he must repay his kindness.
He didn't know what the man looked like, only that his name was "Jiang Fan." In that chaotic situation, it was hard to say whether Jiang Fan would have survived, and even if he had, no one could predict what might have happened over the years. Moreover, in this vast sea of people, the chances of meeting this person again and recognizing him were almost zero. But regardless, this was, in a way, his only connection to the past.
As for his father, his mother never mentioned him. Even when he occasionally asked, she would simply say "I don't know" to brush him off. Back then, they fled to the chaotic Chinatown, and for the orphan and widow to survive, they had to rely on others. At that time, a small gang leader took a liking to his mother, and she, with no other choice, agreed to go with him, making it her only condition that she bring her son along. However, this nominal "father" lived a life of constant danger, and died in a gang fight a few years later. To support her son, his mother had to work tirelessly every day, and her already frail body couldn't withstand such hardship; she soon fell ill. Because of the difficult circumstances, he worked as a child laborer, assembling parts in a factory. But the money he earned was pitifully small, and to buy medicine for his mother, he had no choice but to steal. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop his mother from weakening day by day. Finally, when he was 13, his mother left him. He would always remember the icy touch of his mother's thin, bony hands as she stroked his tear-streaked face before she died.
He almost naturally joined his deceased "father's" gang, becoming a low-level thug. His fearless ruthlessness earned him a reputation for excellence in several gang fights, winning the favor of the leaders. At fifteen, he was sent to "pick up a shipment," but an unexpected turn of events occurred: another black criminal gang stole their goods, leading to a fierce fight. He was shot in the side and escaped to a garbage dump in a dark alley, where he finally evaded pursuit. By then, he was dying from blood loss, lying on the ground awaiting death. The man who appeared before him was his savior.
Rose glanced sideways at the man in the passenger seat; he was leaning back with his eyes closed, resting. His handsome, resolute face showed slight weariness, his thick, arched eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and his thin lips were pressed into a line—he was indeed exhausted these past two days. Three months ago, after Xu Yi woke up, he had been secretly investigating the matter of his partial amnesia. Few people knew the truth about this; besides Xu Qi, his mother Shao Minyu, Rose, and the hypnotherapist, no one else knew the inside story.
Normally, nothing would have gone wrong, but these past two days, Xu Yi suddenly started having nightmares. Xu Qi personally stayed by his younger brother's side, staying up all night until Xu Yi calmed down just before dawn, at which point he would finally go back to his room to rest. Unfortunately, recently there have been some conflicts between the California Chinese gangs "Fuqing Gang" and "Longming," and the two sides are currently in preliminary negotiations. Xu Qi is going to Seattle tomorrow afternoon for negotiations, so he needs to prepare in advance these next few days. Therefore, he often gets less than three hours of sleep before having to deal with gang affairs again. Even an iron man couldn't handle this kind of non-stop work. Qiangwei considered offering to take care of Xu Yi, but judging from Xu Qi's attitude, it was absolutely impossible for him to leave his brother, who was tormented by nightmares, to go to sleep alone.
"Young Master, we've arrived." Rose stepped on the brakes and turned to call to Xu Qi, who was already somewhat drowsy, "Would you like to go inside and rest?"
Xu Qi gave a soft hum and slowly opened his eyes: "What time is it?"
“It’s 9 o’clock,” Rose replied, glancing at the screen.
Xu Qi got out of the car and turned to instruct him, "Go and organize today's materials. Don't worry about me."
Seeing that his face was really pale, Rose couldn't help but advise him, "Young Master, it would be best if you rested for a while. Xueying and I are here with Ayi..."
Xu Qi frowned and interrupted him: "Just go do what I tell you to do. When did you become so indecisive?"
Rose sighed, "Your subordinate will obey. But young master, please don't take your health so lightly."
Xu Qi raised an eyebrow: "It's kind of you to worry so much. I'll be back in a bit."
The man's retreating figure gradually disappeared into the night. Rose leaned over the steering wheel, closed her eyes, and chuckled softly. She was infatuated with a man who would never look back at her, finding joy in the smallest acts of kindness from him, and tormenting herself repeatedly because of his feelings for others. Why was he so pathetic?
Have you ever seen pilgrims? They worship their god with utmost devotion, step by step, until death. This person, to him, was the salvation of his miserable life, the king he swore to follow for life, the most devout faith in his heart. But unlike pilgrims, he fantasized about touching or even possessing the god in his heart! He was jealous of Xu Yi, whom this person loved so deeply, and jealous of everyone closely related to this person. He had no way to stop his mad love for this person. This feeling, as shameful as a rat in the gutter, had always occupied the darkest corner of his heart. However, since returning to New York, he found that this shadow had begun to grow, and he tried desperately to suppress it, but to no avail. He was increasingly afraid of exposing this dirty self to Xu Qi, afraid of Xu Qi's disgusted look at him, which would make him wish he had never been born into this world.
In the early hours of the morning, after organizing the documents in Xu Qi's room, Qiangwei stood up and decided to go to Xu Yi's room to persuade Xu Qi to rest. She had already asked the housekeeper, and Xu Yi hadn't had any nightmares that night, so Xu Qi was probably just worried and wanted to observe him a little longer. She gently pushed open Xu Yi's door, and sure enough, Xu Qi was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at Xu Yi's sleeping face with a doting expression.
He desperately suppressed the dark emotions surging within him, and gently approached the bedside. Xu Qi turned around and saw it was him, stood up and said softly, "You stay here and take care of things. If everything is alright, call Xueying over."
Rose nodded and sat down. "Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on him. All the documents are ready, and everything will go smoothly tomorrow. You should go and get some rest."
Xu Qi took one last, reluctant look at her younger brother before tiptoeing out.
Looking at Xu Yi's peaceful sleeping face, Qiangwei sighed deeply. He knew that person deeply loved his younger brother; to him, Xu Yi was like an angel, so endearing—in fact, to many people, he was. And he himself was just a hoodlum who had been taken in; what right did he have to compare himself to someone like Xu Yi?
His thoughts were in turmoil. He sat there blankly until Xueying came to find him, only then realizing an hour had passed. He left wearily, slowly walking back to Xu Qi's room. For convenience, his bed was always in the outer room of Xu Qi's bedroom. Although he was the eldest son of the Xu family, Xu Qi lived an ascetic life. Most of the time, he would relieve himself in the bathroom when he had desires, only occasionally spending the night outside. Xu Qi never deliberately hid it, so Qiangwei knew all about it. But he couldn't understand. Why did he do this? Because of his feelings for his younger brother? Even though he knew he could never get a response from Xu Yi, he was willing to remain chaste for him? However, Xu Yi might never know!
Looking at the door before her, Rose laughed self-deprecatingly. What right did he have to talk about Xu Qi? He was no different himself. Although he didn't get to sleep in the outer room often, every night when he lay on the bed there, he couldn't stop thinking about that person. Especially recently, these thoughts had evolved into an increasingly intense desire, yet he preferred to endure the unfulfilled pain rather than find someone else to replace him. In truth, a beauty like Rose had a large following of men and women pursuing him, but he couldn't shift his gaze from that person to anyone else. That person was irreplaceable.
He pushed open the bedroom door and saw the light was still on and the door was open. Were they still awake? He shook his head and went into the bedroom. For a moment, his heart stopped.
The man lay reclining on the large bed, his shirt only half off, revealing his muscular, sexy honey-colored chest and firm waist and abdomen. The shirt hem covered his legs, and his dark underwear was faintly visible. His pants were only pulled down to his knees, and his long, muscular thighs gleamed alluringly.
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