"I love him to death..."

Soon Lu Fei was really gone. Ling and Wei ran out of hiding and headed for the office.

While the young man was transcribing the number, Jiang Wei took a small bug out of his stash and installed it on his phone. Ling held up a finger in approval.

"Let's go," Jiang Wei commanded, and they used the stairs.

The men ran out of the building and quickly left the area. No one noticed them this time. Moving farther away, Jiang Wei found a quiet street and dialed Lu Fei's number. Pressing his finger to his lips, he indicated to Ling not to interfere.

"Mr. Lu, how many years, how many winters," he began, "how is my indispensable principal?"

"It's still the same," Lou Fei pretended to lament, "the prosecutor's office won't let us breathe, blocking the work of three departments."

"Sorry to hear, but what are your connections at the prosecutor's office?" continued Jiang Wei.

"I can't pressure them not to betray our interests, I promise you a couple more weeks and everything will be fine!"

Jiang Wei clearly heard in this promise how Lu Fei was already celebrating his victory and clenched his teeth in anger.

"Mr. Jiang, rest, take care of your personal life, and don't think about work all the time." Lu Fei said goodbye and hung up.

Jiang Wei suddenly froze and tensed, then looked sharply at Ling and said: "There's a listening device or cameras in my house, let's go find out."

On his way home, Jiang Wei stopped by a security guard he knew and asked for a camera detection device. Back home, Ling went to cook dinner, as he and Wei had agreed on the way.

The boss pretended to drop his cuff link and started crawling around on the carpet and finally got under the table. From there he used the device to locate three cameras on the first floor and later two on the second floor. His office, bedroom, living room kitchen, and even the bathroom were all visible! Not counting the hallways and stairs.

After counting up his findings, Jiang Wei gave thanks to heaven that he hadn't said any important things in the house lately. He realized that there were cameras in the house after Lu Fei's advice to get busy with his personal life.

Even Jiang Wei himself only realized today that he seemed to have a personal life. The hunch was correct. Now the men must deceive Lu Fei.

After dinner, Jiang Wei hugged Ling and offered to go out for a walk. Pretending to be lovers, they left the house and, as they strolled, discussed their affairs in a low voice. Jiang Wei drew Ling to him again and whispered in his ear:

"We need to check the phones; it is quite possible that they are tapped, if so, we must be very careful. I don't know how to break away from the surveillance yet, but I'll figure it out."

Ling nodded and felt the mark of a kiss on his neck. He was uncomfortable with all this spy drama. He just wanted to kiss the disgraced principal without fear of being spied on. Doing it in front of the camera was terribly embarrassing.

"You have to sleep with me tonight," the sly boss whispered to him, "under the covers, I'll tell you what we have to do."

Deep down, Ling and Wei were grateful for Lu Fei's cunning, for thanks to him their relationship was rapidly developing. Modest and timid, Ling was forced to become brave to save Jiang Wei, and he in turn treasured every moment alone with the young man. If it weren't for the danger and the unknown, who knows how long the uncertainty between them would have lingered?

After taking a shower, Ling waited for his boss in bed; finally, he could sleep humanly! Jiang Wei extinguished the light and climbed under the covers. He pulled Ling to him and kissed him.

It was a long and ardent kiss, but at the end, the boss still pulled away from his desired lips and whispered faintly: "you have to go home tomorrow," Ling shook his head negatively, "you have to, otherwise we'll give ourselves away. As soon as I make the arrangements, I'll come for you. We'll call each other and it won't be long."

There was stubbornness in the young man's eyes, but Jiang Wei took his hand and slowly lowered it along his stomach until it touched a tense spot. Ling shuddered and heard:

"There's no way I want to part and I'll do anything to make this creep disappear. Then I'll come after you, and we'll go all the way, okay?"

Ling confirmed with one lip.

They hugged and fell asleep thinking about what awaited them in the near future. In the morning, Jiang Wei and his assistant visited his friend once more, returning the device to him. Afterward, the acquaintance checked their phones - everything was fine. When it was time to say goodbye, Ling could hardly contain the bitterness in his heart. He hugged Wei for a long time and didn't want to let go. Jiang Wei rewarded him with a kiss that made Ling's legs buckle.

"I can't wait to see you again," Ling muttered, buckling his belt and pulling out onto the road. Behind him, there was a very special man who was now in great danger. And Ling had to leave him alone, it made his heart water with tears, but Ling slapped him and came to his senses for a while.

All the way home he wondered what he could do to save his boss's reputation, but he didn't know. He drove the car for hours until completely exhausted, he ran his headlights into a familiar house. After dinner, he retired to his room and called his boss. They couldn't talk frankly, so they limited themselves to roles within their relationship.

Shi Meili noticed a change in her son. He became focused and taciturn. At every opportunity, he would run to his room and talk on the phone for hours.

It had been three days since he had returned, but it seemed as if only a shadow of Lyn had arrived, not himself.

Shi Meili drew the only logical conclusion - her son had left his heart somewhere and she was certainly right.

In the evening a message came from Jiang Wei: "All business in the city is resolved. I'm flying out to see the old man. I'll be in touch in a couple of days, take care."

Ling tossed and turned without sleep that night, and in the morning he asked his mother to go with him to the temple. With his arms folded, he prayed for the first time to all the gods who could hear him, that they would help Jiang Wei, protect him from danger, and help him win.

Shi Meili turned her head and watched as A-Ling prayed. She, too, folded her hands and asked that everything he asked for come true.

After a couple of days, Jiang Wei didn't show up. After another four days, Ling lost hope and locked him in the workshop. He never came out of there.

Shi Meili and his brothers took turns bringing him food and water, but he forgot to eat.

From morning till night, he painted like a madman. Soon his studio looked like a temple, and his deity smiled and scowled from his canvases.

Ling drew Jiang Wei twenty-one times! He reproduced his features over and over again in his memory and transferred him to the canvas as a man possessed. Completely exhausted, he finally passed out.

When her son stopped responding, Shi Meile allowed the door of the studio to be broken down.

Once inside, she saw A-Ling lying down. The brothers picked him up and carried him for air. The doctor was concerned about A-Ling's condition and recommended an IV. Later that evening and also in the morning, a nurse came to Shi Meili's house to take care of Shi Ling.

When the woman left, Shi Meili returned to the workshop. In the morning light, Jiang Wei looked at her from everywhere. Meili leaned against the doorjamb and shook her head. Not knowing the details and not being able to ask her son, she was completely confused.

By the evening of the second day, Ling had come to his senses. He looked distractedly at the people around him and could not remember what had happened to him. Turning his head to the left, he saw the portrait of Jiang Wei and sighed deeply.

Shi Meili didn't know whether or not it would help her son, but it was still the right thing to do. Ling stared at the canvas for long periods, occasionally falling asleep.

Several more days passed that way. He could not ask his family how Jiang Wei was doing, because no one, of course, knew. The phone was lying next to him, but it was as if it was dead, the boss had not contacted him in ten days.

The most horrible thoughts entered his head, that he had been exposed, that he had been imprisoned, or was lying somewhere in a foreign country in a hospital, having lost his memory. Ling closed his eyes and repeated the prayer like a mantra.

And then he told his mother everything. She had just come into his room with a bouquet from their garden. She wiped the dust on the nightstand and picked up the dirty dishes.

"Really, he's handsome," Ling said looking at the portrait of Jiang Wei.

He desperately wanted someone to talk to about this man, to confirm that he was real, that he existed somewhere, not just in his heart.

"Mmmm, yes," Shi Meili nodded and cautiously asked: "Is he a close friend of yours?"

Ling licked his parched lips and said:

"I love him to death..."

"And him?" asked Meili softly.

"And he..." Ling's eyes turned red with chagrin.

Meili smiled and stroked his head.

"What's wrong," she asked after a few minutes.

"I'm afraid he's in mortal danger," Ling replied in a hushed voice.

Meili didn't know what to say. Her son was grieving to the point that he had almost died of exhaustion and was miraculously beginning to recover. As a mother, she wanted to support and encourage him in every way she could, but she hadn't found the right words yet.

After thinking for a while, Meili remembered her own condition when her husband, Lyn's father, had died.

She carried his clothes with her everywhere, slept with them, ate with them, showered with them, and was possessed for months until her soul recovered from the loss. In this, they were similar to her son. At first, he drew Jiang Wei to the point of losing his pulse, and now he keeps his eyes on the portrait, afraid of losing that last anchor and connection to the dear one.

The next day, Meili woke up with a strong determination to help her son through a difficult period. She asked Ling where Jiang Wei's house was and how to get there. Going into town early in the morning, by lunchtime, Meili had found the right address. As she entered the house, she was surprised to see dust everywhere.

"Doesn't the housekeeper come here?" The woman found her phone number. She was told that the landlord had suspended the service contract.