Wenhao stayed on the edge of the bed long after everyone left. Dr. Chen's footsteps faded. Hua Cheng's sharp voice disappeared down the hallway. The door closed and the room became quiet except for the soft hum of the heater and Shen Wei's uneven breathing.
He looked around. The room was nice. Too nice for prisoners. A bed with clean sheets. A small table with a vase of fake flowers. A balcony with glass doors that faced the trees.
Wenhao's eyes kept going back to that balcony.
"Shen Wei," he said quietly. "Can you walk?"
Shen Wei's eyes flew open and he pushed himself up on his elbows even though his head was spinning and his body felt like it was made of lead. "What?"
"Can you walk," Wenhao repeated. He was already standing now, his body tense and ready.
Shen Wei's glassy eyes went wide and his face lost what little color it had left. "What are you going to do. Wenhao please don't do anything stupid. Please. They'll hurt you. They'll hurt you."
Wenhao smiled and it was the same smile from the first day they met. The smile that said I know something you don't. "Don't worry. They won't hurt us."
He walked to the door before Shen Wei could say another word and pressed his ear against the wood. Nothing. He turned the handle slowly and pulled the door open just a crack.
The hallway was empty.
No guards. No men in black suits. No Hua Cheng leaning against the wall with his cold eyes.
Wenhao turned back and looked at Shen Wei. "I'm going to check the way out. You stay here okay. Rest. Don't move."
Shen Wei tried to get up. "Wenhao no—"
But Wenhao was already gone, slipping through the door and pulling it closed behind him.
The hallway stretched out in both directions. Wenhao went left because left felt right and he walked on the balls of his feet to keep his footsteps quiet. Every door he passed was closed. Every corner he turned was empty.
No guards.
It didn't make sense.
Wenhao kept walking until he reached a staircase that led down to the first floor. He peered over the railing and saw servants moving through a large kitchen. Women in aprons carrying trays. An old man chopping vegetables. No one looked up. No one looked armed.
His breath hitched and he backed away slowly and walked back to the room as fast as he could without running.
Shen Wei was sitting up on the bed when Wenhao came back and his whole body sagged with relief. "Thank goodness. Thank goodness you came back. I thought they caught you. I thought—"
"They didn't catch me because there's no one to catch me," Wenhao said. He was already walking toward the balcony doors. "There are no guards. Not in the hallway. Not on the stairs. Just servants. Kitchen workers."
Shen Wei blinked. "That doesn't make sense."
"I know." Wenhao pushed open the balcony doors and stepped outside. The air was cold and fresh and smelled like pine trees. He looked down. The drop wasn't that far. Maybe two floors. There was grass below. Soft grass.
He turned back to Shen Wei. "Can you climb?"
Shen Wei's face went from confused to horrified in one second. "No. No no no. Wenhao this is not a good idea. We don't know where we are. We don't know how far the nearest town is. I have a fever. We're both weak and stupid and—"
"Weiwei." Wenhao walked back to the bed and crouched down so his face was level with Shen Wei's. His voice was soft. "Just trust me. Please."
Shen Wei looked into Wenhao's dark eyes and saw something there that made his chest hurt. Not fear. Not recklessness. Just certainty.
He nodded.
Wenhao climbed over the balcony railing first and hung from the edge for a moment before dropping onto the grass below with a soft thud. He landed on his feet and stumbled forward but caught himself and looked up.
"Your turn," he called up quietly. "Don't look down. Just climb over and hang and drop. I'll catch you."
Shen Wei's legs were trembling as he swung his leg over the railing. His hands were sweaty and his head was spinning and every part of his body was screaming at him to go back inside and lie down and give up.
But Wenhao was down there with his arms outstretched and his face full of trust and Shen Wei let go.
He fell.
He fell straight into Wenhao's chest and they both crashed to the ground with Shen Wei on top and Wenhao underneath and the air rushed out of both their lungs.
Wenhao started laughing. A quiet breathless laugh that shook his whole body. "See. I told you I'd catch you."
Shen Wei pushed himself up and his face was red from more than just the fever. "Let's get out of here first. Then you can laugh."
Wenhao nodded and they both stood up and brushed the grass off their clothes and started walking toward the main gate.
The estate was big. Bigger than Wenhao expected. They walked past gardens and empty courtyards and a stable with horses inside. No one stopped them. No one called out. No one even looked at them.
Wenhao couldn't believe it. Was it really this easy? Had Zhenlong really been so careless?
They walked through the main gate and the road turned into a dirt path surrounded by tall trees. The forest pressed in on both sides and the sky was gray and low and the air was cold and damp.
"Wenhao," Shen Wei said quietly. "I don't think this is—"
He stopped.
Wenhao stopped too.
Because coming down the path toward them were two horses. And on the horses were Zhenlong and Hua Cheng.
Zhenlong sat straight and tall on a black horse and his face was calm like he had been expecting them all along. Hua Cheng was on a brown horse with his dark hair loose and his silver ring glinting in the gray light.
Shen Wei grabbed Wenhao's arm and his whole body started shaking again.
Zhenlong pulled his horse to a stop right in front of them and looked down at Wenhao with those black eyes that saw everything. "Are you planning to get lost?"
Wenhao glared up at him and his voice came out sharp and defiant even though his heart was pounding. "I would have escaped very easily if you hadn't shown up."
Hua Cheng started laughing. A real laugh. Loud and unexpected and it echoed through the trees and made birds fly out of the branches.
Wenhao's face went red. "Shut up. Your breath stinks."
Zhenlong chuckled. A low quiet sound that seemed to surprise even him. He looked at Wenhao with something almost like amusement. "This kid is fun to be around. But sadly he'll leave tonight."
Wenhao frowned. "What do you mean."
Hua Cheng smirked down at them. His eyes were cold again but there was something else underneath. Something like satisfaction. "You don't know? Your rich daddy is ready to sign the papers. The deal is done. You're going home."
Wenhao froze.
His father had agreed.
Shen Wei noticed the change in Wenhao's face first. The way his jaw clenched and his hands curled into fists and his eyes went dark and dangerous.
"You," Wenhao said and his voice was low and shaking with rage. "You coward You used me. You used me to make him agree to something he didn't want."
Zhenlong's face didn't change. "That's what leverage is for."
Wenhao lunged forward but Hua Cheng was faster. He slid off his horse and caught Wenhao by the arm and twisted it behind his back and pinned him in place.
"Let go of me," Wenhao snarled and struggled against Hua Cheng's grip but he was too weak and too tired and too sick and the fight drained out of him fast.
Zhenlong watched him struggle and his black eyes were calm and empty. "You have spirit. I respect that. But spirit doesn't win wars."
He turned his horse and started walking back toward the estate.
Hua Cheng released Wenhao's arm and shoved him toward the gate. "Move."
Shen Wei grabbed Wenhao's hand and pulled him along and Wenhao went without fighting because there was nothing left to fight with.
Hua Cheng called over his shoulder to the servants who had appeared from nowhere. "Get them inside. Watch them this time. No more wandering."
The guards grabbed their arms and led them back through the gate and across the courtyards and into the house and Wenhao didn't say a word.
But his hands were shaking and his eyes were burning and he had never hated anyone the way he hated Zhenlong in that moment.